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First Step: Nadal Begins US Open Quest In Toronto
By Richard Pagliaro
© Mark Peterson/Corleve
(August 5, 2010) Canada was once a proving ground for Rafael Nadal's hard-court prowess and the country could be a launching pad for his lofty Grand Slam dreams next week. A then 19-year-old Nadal used Canadian hard courts to redefine himself when he beat Andre Agassi in the 2005 Rogers Cup final to capture his first career hard-court title.
Five years later, Nadal is back north of the border targeting another first.
Nadal launches his US Open Series journey in Toronto next week, in the first leg of trip he hopes will culminate with him claiming his first career US Open crown to join Agassi as one of seven man to complete the career Grand Slam.
Playing both singles and doubles in Toronto, Nadal said he's seeking match play in preparation for the Open rather than trying to send a message to his rivals.
"I don't have nothing to send. It's not a text message," Nadal said. "Every player tries his best and I will try my best in Toronto. The US Open is three weeks (later) so it doesn't matter if I win here, it doesn't mean I will play a good US Open and doesn't matter if I lose on Wednesday here I will still have a chances at the US Open."
At 24, Nadal has already collected eight Grand Slam singles titles, the same total Agassi won in his two-decade career, and is a much more complete player than he was when he made his hard-court break through thanks to a strengthened serve, significantly sharper net play and the addition of a slice backhand to his standard two-hander. But despite his 2009 Australian Open triumph and the fact he is a two-time champion of the Rogers Cup and Indian Wells, Nadal is well aware fast hard courts remain the toughest test for his game and taming the US Open, now the fastest Grand Slam surface in the game, will be his greatest challenge.
"I think I am a better player or more complete player since 2005," Nadal told the media in Toronto today where he helped conduct the draw for next week's Rogers Cup. "The thing is
always the same: play well or play bad. If I play well I will have the chance to have a good results on every surface. If I play bad on clay maybe I still have a chance, but on the rest of surfaces I don't have a chance to play with the best if I play bad. Every match is close so it's important to play well. I hope I play well (at the Rogers Cup). If not I am going to fight."
Typecast as a clay-court specialist when he began the 2005 Rogers Cup, Nadal smashed that stereotype to pieces and showed the versatility and adaptability of his game when he scored a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Agassi in the Rogers Cup final that left the eight-time Grand Slam champion impressed with the teenagers tremendous physicality.
"Physically, he’s worlds above where I was at 19. That’s not even compareable," Agassi said then. "You realize where the game has changed over the last 20 years. It’s come a long ways because from the neck down he looks like he’s 28 not 19."
From the neck up, Nadal played wiser than his years even back then. Shrewd court sense, complete commitment to his high-percentage shots and his insistence on playing the match at his tempo gives Nadal great match presence that can be intimidating to even the most experienced players.
In the five years that have passed since that battle of the tireless vs. the ageless, Nadal has solidified his status as a player for the ages.
Returning to tournament tennis for the first time since he beat Tomas Berdych to regain his Wimbledon crown, Nadal will partner second-ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic in the doubles draw of the Rogers Cup. It's a pairing of the puncher and the Djoker as both men will be playing their first tournament since Wimbledon.
"It's always a pleasure for me to play doubles," Nadal said. "It's an important part of the game to play doubles. To play with Novak is gonna be a very nice and positive thing. I am excited to play with him. He's one of the more talented players of the world to have him with me on the same part of the court is going to be a very nice experience."
Nadal is an accomplished doubles player who partnered his friend and long-time partner Marc Lopez to win the BNP Paribas Open doubles title at Indian Wells in March. The pair swept top-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, 7-6(8), 6-3, in the final after taking down fellow Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco, 6-4, 7-6(4) in the round of 16.
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