Left field

Nadal hopes his numbers add up as he chases Rafa Slam

Fourteen days, seven matches, 21 winning sets and at least 126 winning games – that is all that is separating Rafael Nadal from pulling off the “Rafa Slam”.

It all looks simple enough in numbers but reality is that, and as many calculator-bashing accountants will acknowledge, it takes a lot of work to make sure all the numbers add up correctly.

It has been more than four decades since any man could boast holding all four grand slam titles at the same time and Nadal – the holder of the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open crowns — knows the next fortnight at the Australian Open is likely to be his one and only chance of winning four in a row.

“Maybe I only have this opportunity once in my career,” Nadal said over and over again on Saturday as he was asked the same question during a series of interviews on the eve of season’s first major.

Asked about his chances of achieving a feat that has even eluded his great rival Roger Federer, he replied: “I think it is almost impossible.

“Tennis is a very competitive sport and there is not a lot of difference between players.

“A lot of matches are decided between a few balls, so for that reason it is very difficult to have one player winning everything.”

Will anyone gatecrash the Roger-Rafa party in 2011?

Will 2011 be the year when Rafael Nadal’s stock rises even further? Or will it be the year when Roger Federer will leave Australia with a lighter suitcase? Or will it be the year when someone finally gatecrashes the Roger-Rafa party?

There will be 126 players looking to stop the all-or-nothing battle royale between Nadal and Federer when the Australian Open kicks off in 18 days.

While Nadal will be in pursuit of becoming the first man in over four decades to hold all four grand slam titles at once – a feat last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969 – Federer will be heading to Melbourne Park with a pounding heart as one slip up would mean that for the first time since 2003 he will not be a reigning champion at any of the four majors.

It is a situation that seemed unthinkable in January 2010.

Many pundits were busy penning Nadal’s tennis obituary when he followed up his injury-ravaged 2009 season by quitting mid-match in the Aussie Open quarter-final against Andy Murray. While Nadal headed home to nurse his dodgy knees, an unstoppable Federer looked like he was ready to monopolise the men’s game for a few more years when he pocketed a record 16th grand slam title on Rod Laver Arena.

But a monopoly of any kind rarely excites the masses and thankfully for the men’s game, rumours of Nadal’s demise were greatly exaggerated. After the Spaniard roared back to win the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S.

Open crowns, the Roger-Rafa rivalry was once again reignited at the season-ending Tour finals.

How important is the Federer-Nadal rivalry for tennis?

The ATP World Tour Finals are supposed to be a showdown between the world’s eight best players although even before a ball has been hit in anger, the talk of a Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal final showdown has been gathering momentum.   

The Federer-Nadal rivalry has been the lifeblood of tennis since the duo first traded shots at the Miami Masters over six years ago but lately fans have been suffering withdrawal symptoms as the two men have locked horns just once all season.

While this has been good news for rivals such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, pundits such as Boris Becker feel there is no better advert for tennis than the epic clashes between Federer and Nadal — who between them have won 25 grand slam titles.  

“Every sport needs a rivalry between the one and two in the world and tennis has it with Federer and Nadal. It’s just amazing for the fans to watch two players that are so different by personality, by character, by playing style,” six-times grand slam champion Becker told Reuters.

“They beat each other up, one day the Swiss wins the tournament, the other the Spaniard wins, so it’s great for tennis and I hope it continues for a couple more years because that’s something any sport needs.”

Federer, more than anyone, wants the rivalry to continue because he would dearly love to narrow the 7-14 head-to-head record against his Spanish foe but to do that he needs to shake off an affliction that is creeping more and more into his game – matchpoint-itis

Where have all the American champions disappeared to?

When Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were engaged in a constant merry-go-round for the world number one spot throughout the 1990s, little did they know that a decade later American tennis players would have been left feeling dizzy with disbelief after they were completely wiped out from the Top 10.

Andy Roddick woke up on Monday to discover he had slid down two spots to number 11 and his little stumble meant that for the first time since the inception of rankings in 1973, the Stars and Stripes will not feature in the ATP’s top 10.

However, the fact that Roddick had managed to delay the U.S. from this debacle until this week is a remarkable feat in itself considering no American man has won a grand slam since the U.S. Open in 2003.

That was the year Roddick thought he had picked up the American baton from the likes of Sampras and company when he won his first major title and ended the year ranked number one. Little did he know that seven years later, he would still be searching for grand slam title number two or that American men would go through a barren spell lasting 27 majors and counting.

“What the lack of a U.S. top-10 male this week points out… is how lucky U.S. tennis fans have been over the years,” Courier told the Miami Herald. “I hope this will be a moment for American people to finally reflect on how strong and consistent Andy Roddick’s career has been so far since he has largely been the lone American man in the top 10 in recent years.

“I am sure plenty of people will get worked up about this, but not me. I can’t seem to recall an article that mentioned how remarkable the ongoing U.S. top-10 presence was in the past few years but I am also not surprised that the lack of a top-10 player will now get ink. The game is deep with global talent but the U.S. will have a top-10 presence again, probably within a few weeks.”

Agassi’s confessions could have knock-on effect for Serena

Andre Agassi’s decision to open his soul and tell the world he took drugs and then hoodwinked his governing body, the ATP, into believing his failed drugs test in 1997 was a mere mistake could not have come at a worse time for Australian and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams.

While Agassi has been condemned by players and pundits alike for tainting the image of his sport, tennis authorities have come under fire for not investigating the matter thoroughly and believing Agassi’s lies.

One of the accusations against the ATP was it brushed the whole episode under the carpet as it could not afford to ban one of its biggest draws on the men’s tour.

In light of the Agassi debacle 12 years ago, Williams knows she could be in for some stiff punishment from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) even though the cases are so different.

Williams is in many ways the face of women’s tennis as she has won more grand slams than any other active player – her tally currently standing at 11 – and is also the world number one.

But her foul-mouthed rant at a lineswoman during her U.S. Open semi-final defeat against Kim Clijsters has left the ITF, who run the four grand slam tournaments, facing a real dilemma.

Should they make a stand by banning one of the sport’s biggest stars from taking part in one or more grand slam tournaments? Or should they simply hit Williams with a larger fine than the $10,500 she was handed at Flushing Meadows so that tournaments do not suffer financial consequences by the no-show of the biggest names in women’s tennis.

So many whys in Agassi affair

“I was worried for a moment but not for long. I was actually excited about telling the world the whole story,” Andre Agassi said.

Except this was no ordinary story. One of the greatest players to have graced a tennis court had just revealed that he had taken drugs and then lied to the ATP about the circumstances surrounding his positive dope test in 1997.

The eight-times grand slam champion took the recreational drug crystal meth 12 years ago when his career was floundering – he found himself playing on the challenger circuit after sliding down the rankings to 141st in the world.

Although the substance may not be performance enhancing, the question on every tennis fan’s lips since the news broke is “Why?”

Why did Agassi take it? Why did the governing body of tennis clear him of any wrongdoing? And why did he disclose this bombshell now when he had effectively got away with it?

It is hard to believe that a popular sportsman who made over $31 million in prize money and several times that amount in endorsement deals would want to drag his own name through the mud just to get some publicity for his autobiography.

But that is effectively what he has done.

Serena outburst: was there any excuse?

OK, don’t shoot me down for saying this, but can anyone see Saturday’s double-fault storm at the US Open from Serena Williams’s point of view?

With a place in the U.S. Open final at stake — and with many believing the winner of the Williams-Kim Clijsters showdown would go on to win the title — how frustrating is it to get foot-faulted on a second serve at 4-6 5-6 15-30 down?

Can anyone remember when someone was foot-faulted at such an important moment of a key match like a grand slam semi-final before?

Should a line-judge go by the book if she sees a foot-fault or would it have been better to have just let it go at such a crucial point in the contest?

With the adrenaline already pumping through her, and the thought of going match point down, Serena lost control.

Astounded by the verdict, she flipped out and marched to the official, shouting, waving her racket and shaking a ball in her clenched fist.

“I swear to God I’m… going to take this… ball and shove it down your… throat, you hear that? I swear to God. You better be glad — you better be glad that I’m not, I swear.” Williams told the line-judge in her expletive-laden rant.

Clijsters reminds us what we’ve been missing

Venus Williams must wish Kim Clijsters had stayed retired and enjoyed a relaxing life as a millionaire mum.

The Belgian returned to grand slam action for the first time in 31 months and has left each and every one of her opponents at the U.S. Open embarrassed.

Williams’s status as the world number three looked a bit of a joke when she dropped the opening set to love against a woman who now stashes her suitcase with more toys than rackets.

With her 18-month daughter Jada being looked after at the tournament crèche, Clijsters completed a 6-0 0-6 6-4 fourth-round win over the seven-times grand slam champion.

While her victory was embraced by the hollering fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it is a double-edged sword for the WTA tour.

What does it say about the state of women’s tennis when a player who has been out of the game for more than two years can beat rivals who are supposed to be the standard bearers for the sport?

Federer is still the daddy

All eyes will be on new dad Roger Federer at the U.S. Open next week to see if he really can combine nappy changing duties with a successful run to another grand slam title.

The five-times Flushing Meadows champion, whose wife Mirka gave birth to twins Charlene Riva and Myla Rose last month, will be aiming to become the first parent to win a tennis major since 2003.

While parenthood has effectively ended the careers of many professional athletes, former world number one Stefan Edberg believes Federer’s pedigree sets him apart from everyone else and will allow him to buck the trend.

“Statistics tell you something of the past, it doesn’t tell you the future,” six-times grand slam champion Edberg, who will be competing in The Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London in December, told Reuters.

“I think the biggest relief for Roger was probably winning the French Open. That’s really extended his career, I really believe so. He’s got the confidence, he’s got the momentum and I think having twins could have a positive effect, at least to start with that’s for sure, so I don’t see any problems for him at the U.S. Open.”

But that is not what the record books say. The last time a mother won a singles grand slam crown was in 1980 when Australian Evonne Goolagong triumphed at Wimbledon. Since then, only eight men have captured a major after embracing the joys of fatherhood.

While four — Pat Cash, Andres Gomez, Petr Korda and Albert Costa — were one-slam wonders, multiple champions Boris Becker, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andre Agassi managed to add just one further slam to their haul after becoming parents.

Can Wimbledon cope without Nadal?

When Roger Federer shows up at Wimbledon next week without Rafael Nadal looking down at him  from the top of the draw, it will almost feel like Laurel turned up without Hardy or Starsky without Hutch.

In an era when the Federer-Nadal showdowns are starting to become tales of Hollywood blockbusters, the Swiss will have to  go it alone for the first time since the 2006 Australian Open — which the Spaniard missed with a foot injury.

The 2009 season that promised much for Nadal when he beat Federer a thrilling five-set showstopper to win his first Australian Open title in January fell apart at the seams on Friday.

Wearing a purple T-shirt and with his shoulders sagging, he told the tennis world the news it did not want to hear. “Unfortunately this year I won’t be able to play at  Wimbledon,” he announced in Spanish.

While, as Serena Williams suggested, it left “a lot of guys on the men’s tour celebrating and partying, his absence will leave a gaping hole in the Wimbledon draw.

A tournament without its world number one, its top seed and its champion is a little like trying to stage the Oscars without  the prized golden statuettes. It is not what sports fans would have wanted — especially on the back of the heart-stopping five set thriller he won at Wimbledon 50 weeks ago to end Federer’s five-year reign.