An Important Month Lies Ahead for Nadal
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by Nejoshi
Could Roger Federer’s dominant run as the #1 ranked tennis player in the world finally be coming to and end? Well it could be if Rafael Nadal can muster up a month to remember during the summer’s crucial hard court season, termed the U.S. Open Series.
The brain trust of tennis created the U.S. Open Series so that the stretch run of the tennis season could have a playoff of sorts, with players battling for an increased paycheck if they are among the top three in the standings during the US hard court swing. However, during the Series’ initial three years, the series was very anticlimactic as Roger Federer had clearly run away with the world’s #1 ranking, making the battle of the U.S. Open Series moot.
But, this year, the U.S. Open Series has the potential for a riveting finish featuring the world’s top two players with the #1 ranking for 2007 still very much in doubt. Although Federer has taken two of the year’s three Grand Slams, he sits at a significant deficit in the Race for the #1 ranking, trailing Nadal by a significant margin of 135 points, 936-801.
During the Series, there will be three make of break tournaments in the month of August that will undoubtedly go a long way towards determining who will the crown as the world’s best tennis players for the season.
Beginning August 5th, the world’s best will converge in Canada for the first of two back-to-back Masters Series events. Outside of the Grand Slams, the Masters Series events represent the biggest and most prestigious events on the tennis calendars. All of the top players are required to play, with injury being the only acceptable excuse. The event in Montreal will be huge as Federer steps in as the defending champion, while the second ranked Spaniard heads to Canada off a disappointing 3rd round loss last year. The pressure will be on Federer to defend the points he had accumulated from last year’s title, with 100 race points up for grabs for the champion.
The back end of the Masters Series double will take place in Cincinnati, with another 100 race points at stake for the champion. Federer has struggled at Cincinnati in the past, suffering two disappointing early round losses in the last three years, – he won the event in 2005 – with Nadal falling in the quarters a year ago.
The U.S. Open Series will reach its climax with the year’s final Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, taking place in the bright lights of New York City. As a Grand Slam, the winner will be awarded a whopping 200 points in the ATP Race, which will certainly decide who takes the #1 ranking for the year. Federer has dominated the event like few ever have, and will step in as the three-time defending champion. The top-ranked Swiss will attempt to become the first player in the history of the Open Era (since 1968) to win the Open four consecutive years. Meanwhile, Nadal will look to make his first big splash at the event, looking to improve off of a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals last season.
Looking at the 52-week rankings, it appears that Federer is safely ahead with over an 1800-point lead (7290-5455), but the tally is misleading. The 11-time Grand Slam winner will be forced to defend a substantial amount of the points during the month of August, while Nadal has an opportunity to build off his less than extraordinary results from last year, and has a lot to gain if he can play some great tennis.
Last summer, Nadal was in a similar position; following his 4-set loss to Federer in Wimbledon last year, the two titans of men’s tennis were tied in the ATP Race, entering the summer hard court season. But, Nadal looked mentally and physically tired during the tail end of the season and faded away, while Federer once again proved why he was the best, taking home the U.S. Open and the year-end Tennis Masters Cup to comfortably finish as #1.
This year, Nadal is in much more of a favorable position with his comfortable lead in the Race, but can the fiery Spaniard show the world he has learned from his tough lessons of the past, or will Federer take the title as the best for the fourth straight year? Only time will tell, but for the first time ever, the U.S. Open Series and the month of August will truly serve as a playoff to crown tennis’ “champion”, with some high quality tennis on the menu.
