Agassi-Sampras. McEnroe-Borg. Men's tennis has had some incredible rivalries over the years, but almost none stack up to that of the current contestation between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The two best players of the last 10 years (and two of the best of all-time) will add yet another chapter to their storied rivalry when they meet up at the French Open Finals in Roland Garros tomorrow. If you're a tennis fan like I am, this is the Championship you'd been hoping for. And if it's anything like their past match ups, this could be yet another thriller.
Ok. First things first. It's time for me to eat some crow. Two weeks ago, I foolishly thought that Nadal would be French toast. I thought that his shaky first match combined with his underwhelming start to the year would spell doom for his chances at taking home the title at Roland Garros. I figured the red hot Novak Djokovic who came in with an undefeated record on the year was the clear cut favorite. Boy was I wrong. Feel free to laugh at this post.
Alright now that that's out of the way, let's look ahead to the main event. We've talked about what a great rivalry Federer and Nadal have, but just how good is it? The stats don't lie. They are the first pair of men to have held down the top two spots in the ATP rankings for six consecutive calendar years from 2005-10. That streak was broken when Djokovic snuck up #2 usurping Federer earlier this year. That will definitely change back after this event. Fed and Rafa have met up 24 times, and amazingly 19 of those have been in tournament finals. The records continue. 8 of those match ups have come in Grand Slam Finals. That's unbelievable. Some of their greatest bouts have come at the French Open where the two met up in every final from 2006-2008 (they also faced off at the Wimbledon final every year during that span.)
So who's gonna win? Both players have looked sensational so far in this event. Rafa's been on a roll after his sketchy first round match up and easily outlasted Andy Murray in the semifinals. Meanwhile, it was Federer taking care of business against surprising favorite Djokovic in the semis to punch his ticket to the finals. All-time, Nadal is 16-8 against Federer. That includes a 6-2 mark in Grand Slam finals. Fed might have the better overall career numbers overall, but you can't deny that Rafa has had his number heads up. As the #1 seed and as the appropriately nicknamed "King of Clay" where he typically dominates, Nadal has to be the favorite here. Prediction: Nadal in 4 sets.
by Andy Adamson
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