Looking Forward
In two weeks' time, the clay court season kicks off. Last year's was predictable, with Rafael Nadal winning his eight French Open title, an all-time record. But the season saw young players who could pose a threat to the Big Four, namely Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Roger Federer. They won 38 Grand Slam titles between them. Tennis became exciting once more.
In last year's Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Djokovic defeated Nadal, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1). It was a huge win for the Serbian, as he was a losing finalist to the Spaniard, twice, at the Monte Carlo Country Club. Nadal was the eight-time defending champion, on a 46-match winning streak. The victory might meant that Djokovic would win the French Open, the only missing major in his resume. A victory would make him the eighth player to achieve a career Grand Slam, a feat of winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in one discipline. But it didn't happen, as Djokovic narrowly lost to Nadal in the semifinals at Roland Garros, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7.
Last year's season also saw Japan's Kei Nishikori and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, two young guns who could be Top 10 soon. The former upset Federer in the Mutua Madrid Open, the latter being labeled as the young Fed. Dimitrov had modest success on the slow courts, but he would achieve great result during the later part of the season.
Though Nadal dominated clay for years, this surface could produce some surprises. The French Open have many winners who won their first Grand Slam title on the red-dirt courts of Roland Garros. Björn Borg. Mats Wilander. Ivan Lendl. Jim Courier. Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Then there were one-time major winners, the Coupe des Mousquetaires their only Grand Slam trophy. Yannick Noah. Michael Chang. Andrés Gómez. Thomas Muster. Carlos Moyá. Clay demands lots of movement, with lots of long rallies. Patience - and a shrewd mind - would come in handy. Chang can attest to that, after his dramatic fourth-round victory over Lendl in the 1989 French Open.
The upcoming clay court season will be exciting for many reasons. Djokovic hired Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, as Head Coach last December. Can the German help his mentor win the French Open at last? This year's Monte Carlo Rolex Masters will be his first test. Federer can't be counted out too, as he hired Stefan Edberg as his coach. He's also using a bigger racket, which seems to work. Chang became visible in the tour again, working with Nishikori. Then there's Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, long under Federer's shadow. He achieved his breakthrough in Melbourne last January, winning the Australian Open (by beating the injured Nadal). He had a good season on clay last year, so expect him to be a contender in the major tournaments. This leaves Nadal.
The native of Majorca is the logical favorite, being the defending champion in Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. If his form in the recent Sony Open Tennis is of any indication, then health won't be a problem. But clay is an unpredictable surface, so let's wait and see.
