The Hindu : Sport : No stopping Nadal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 06, 2005

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Sport

No stopping Nadal

Packing a punch: Rafael Nadal proved his mastery on clay defeating Mariano Puerta in the French Open final. — Photo: AP

PARIS, June 6. (AP): Rafael Nadal's first Grand Slam final will be remembered for the magnificent tiebreaker he lost, the set points he saved and the title he won.

In a match filled with spectacular exchanges at dramatic moments, Spanish sensation Nadal beat an unseeded but unyielding Mariano Puerta 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to win the French Open.

With Sunday's victory, the young king of clay earned a congratulatory handshake from the king of Spain.

``This is incredible,'' said Nadal, who turned 19 Friday. ``It's a dream come true.''

The fourth-seeded Nadal overcame three set points in the final set and became the youngest men's Grand Slam champion since Michael Chang won the French Open in 1989 at age 17.

Nadal's the first man to win the French Open on his initial try since Mats Wilander, who claimed the first of his seven Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros in 1982.

``I fight every ball,'' Nadal said in English. ``When I have problems in the match, I fight, I fight, I fight every game.''

Sheer entertainment

For sheer entertainment, the final surprisingly surpassed Nadal's semifinal win on his birthday against top-ranked Roger Federer.

The match inspired the best kind of clay-court creativity, keeping both players on the run as they chased drop shots, lobs and sharply angled groundstrokes. Some of the best rallies came in the tiebreaker, with each point seemingly more spectacular than the last.

Puerta, hampered by a sore thigh and weary from consecutive 3-hour five-setters in the previous two rounds, kept battling Nadal even after losing the second and third sets.

``He brought out the best in me,'' Puerta said. ``I lost to an excellent player. He's the best player in the world.''

The Argentine's efforts to force a fifth set won over the center-court crowd, who repeatedly chanted his name, and drew applause even from Nadal's coach and uncle, Toni Nadal.

``Mariano played better tennis than Rafa,'' Toni Nadal said.

``But Rafa had the luck when he needed it.''

Puerta was one point from winning the fourth set serving at 5-4, 40-15.

But in another series of thrilling exchanges, Nadal rallied to break serve for 5-all. Two games later, after 3 hours, 24 minutes of tennis, he closed out the victory when Puerta pushed a forehand wide.

Nadal collapsed to the clay, flat on his back, then rose and embraced Puerta at the net.

The young Spaniard then trotted to the other end of the court to shake hands with King Juan Carlos of Spain, seated in the front row. ``These moments are very strong,'' Nadal said.

``It's something you can't explain. When you reach your goal, it's an extraordinary moment. For the first time, I cried after winning a match. It never happened to me before.''

With his 24th consecutive victory, Nadal surpassed Andre Agassi for the longest winning streak by a male teenager in the Open era. All of the victories have come on clay.

Nadal received euro880,000 ($1,082,400) for his sixth tournament title this year, all on clay.

Puerta, who arrived in Paris with a career Grand Slam record of 8-15 and a tainted reputation after serving a nine-month drug suspension, won admirers with his grinding style and received euro440,000 ($541,200).

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