Can Roger Pull Off A ‘RAFA’?

The US Open 2010 is probably the most anticipated tennis event of this year. Tennis fans all over the world ask themselves.” Can Roger Federer pull off a ‘Rafa’ , or will the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal grind his way to a Career Grand Slam”?

By the beginning of 2010, it seemed clear in every tennis fan’s mind that Roger Federer was almost unstoppable. He had cemented his place in tennis history, by winning a record 16 Grand Slam titles.The other face of tennis, Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, could not defend his Wimbledon or French Open titles( a fact which Federer calmly took advantage of),and had dropped to rank 4 in the world, his lowest in over 5 years. It seemed doubtful that he would ever make a comeback.

And then came the clay season. And out of nowhere, Nadal returned. With new dynamics and a stronger will to win( and knees…mind you) he made his way back to the grand stage.He rushed through the 3 ATP tours before the French Open, losing only 2 sets in all ( and also created two new world records) . While Federer was knocked put of the French Open quarterfinals, Nadal smoothly bludgeoned his way to the finals, without dropping a single set.In the finals, he faced his arch rival and nemesis, Robin Soderling, who had been the one to knock him out of the Open the previous year. In a stunning display of strength and agility, Nadal destroyed his opponent, leaving no doubts in anyone’s mind. The King Of clay was back, And He was there to stay.

His successful streak continued at Wimbledon,a tournament he had been forced to withdraw from the previous year. Nadal was moving ahead with a vengeance. And no one could stand in his way. In one of the shortest finals ever, he defeated his opponent, Thomas Berdych, to reclaim his Wimbledon crown.

Federer , on the other hand, was on a losing streak. He had not won a single tournament since the Australian Open. Many presume that the thirst in him had just died. After surpassing Pete Sampras in terms of Grand Slam victories, the Swiss maestro just could not deliver.

which brings us to the US open! Will Federer pull off a comeback similar to the one Rafael Nadal had? Better yet, can he? At 29 years of age, he’s no spring chicken.Yet tennis greats like Andre Aggasi had made similar comebacks and gone on to win 5 more Grand Slams. Obviously, there’s no real need for federer to even try to make a comeback. He’s already gone down in history as one of , if not the greatest player of all times. He can either bow out gracefully, or (more likely), summon up the will to make a fitting comeback. There’s only 1 glitch on federer’s resume: a 7:14 record against Nadal . I for one, am confident that federer would not want to end his career without having a say in the matter.

And can Nadal continue to win at the Arthur Ashe stadium, a Grand slam in which he has never reached the finals? His game is severly hampered( relatively of course ) on hard court, a surface on which he has the least victories. Can he make his way to the finals by sheer grit? Will federer be there to meet him?

Let’s find out…. It’s only just begun