By Blair Henley | Tuesday, May 27, 2014
What is it like to watch Rafael Nadal play at Roland Garros? Tennis Now's Blair Henley brings you along for the ride.
(Photo Credit: Peter Staples)
It wasn’t where I thought I would be sitting for my first Rafael Nadal experience at Roland Garros. Instead of situated in the press seats on Court Philippe Chatrier, wedged under an overhang halfway between the court and the stadium’s top row, rabid Rafa fans and I were relegated to - gasp - Court Suzanne Lenglen, which seats 10,068 to Chatrier’s 14,840.
As a French Open first-timer, I had never before set foot inside Lenglen. Based on the collective outrage expressed by media, fans and, reportedly, Nadal’s camp when the defending champ was demoted to the secondary show court, you would have thought I was headed to watch him compete in an obscure back alley somewhere. While hometown favorite Alize Cornet steamrolled teenager Ashleigh Barty on a sparsely populated Chatrier, I joined the mass exodus toward the west side of Roland Garros, using some fancy footwork of my own to dodge the extraordinary number of people strolling the grounds with lit cigarettes. I am in France, after all.
My claustrophobic approach to Lenglen contrasted sharply with the open feel once inside the stadium. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the press seats were far closer to the court than in Chatrier. As I watched Nadal warm up, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread for his opponent, American Robby Ginepri. The 31-year-old former US Open semifinalist considered retiring before securing a French Open wildcard from the USTA. One unlucky draw later and I wondered if I was witnessing Nadal drive a nail into the coffin of his career.
From my perch, I could see that the Spaniard was perspiring profusely just minutes into the match, his sweat glands unfazed by the gloomy, 60-degree weather. Thanks to his damp, clingy turquoise Nike tee, I could see each muscle in his back as he hit his groundstrokes, underscoring just how much energy goes into every single shot he hits.
The acoustics on Lenglen are spectacular. The chorus of camera shutters as Nadal kicked off his first service game reminded me that I was witnessing something rare, something photographers were capturing for people all over the world.
Fourteen minutes into the match, Nadal was already leading 3-0. Even so, he had a few spectacular forehand shanks during those games, reminding me just how little room for error he has on that “modern” forehand of his. Those mishits should remind recreational players that what works for one of the most physically gifted athletes ever, will probably not work for them.
One of Nadal’s greatest strengths is how much spin he generates, how high his balls kick up after they hit the ground. On clay, the effect is even more extreme. Ginepri was making contact with many of his grounstrokes at head level. I imagine it’s like trying to hit a baseball pitch without a strike zone. Batters would look silly. At times, so did Ginepri.
For all of his unmatchable skill on clay, I would be lying if I said Nadal looks comfortable here. His well-documented tics keep him constantly in motion, even when he’s sitting down on changeovers. His knees bob up and down like he is giving an imaginary child a thrill ride on his lap. Relaxed, this is not. But in case you were wondering, he is an exceptionally efficient bandana folder, changing his headgear three times during the hour-and-42-minute match.
The formerly packed crowd in Lenglen began to dissipate after the second set, amazement quickly giving way to boredom. As I watched fans file out of the stadium, I wondered to myself what it would be like to be so good at something that people didn’t care to watch, my success a foregone conclusion. I stopped thinking before my head exploded.
Nadal finished the match like he started it, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0. In the pressroom he said his temporary exile from Chatrier “doesn’t really matter a lot.” But to me, it did. Thanks to some questionable judgment on behalf of the French Open, I enjoyed the best vantage point I will likely ever have of the greatest (on clay) of all time.
Follow Blair Henley on twitter @blairhenley