The outcome of the men's final at Roland Garros was just about as expected, and it appears as though not even the most talented player of all time has the skill to beat a brick wall. The 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 scoreline really does not do justice to Rafael Nadal who, at almost no point in the match, was in danger of losing his French Open title to Roger Federer. For his part, Federer will now move on to the short grass court season and will look for another Wimbledon title in July -- a surface and a tournament where he is the boss. His aspirations of claiming the Grand Slam have gone for 2007, but he will surely be even more determined to win it in 2008. The match began with such intensity, with both players throwing everything they had into their shots. Federer played some stunning winners, but so did Nadal, and then, when the chips were down, it was the Spaniard who showed that he was not going to succumb even to the brilliance of the world No. 1. Federer tried to cut down the duration of the baseline rallies in the second set and he succeeded to break Nadal as he went on to level the match. But Nadal would not be outdone: he dictated the pace and the style of play knowing that nobody, not even the great Roger Federer, is capable of hitting winner after winner throughout the match, and that as the match went on his opponent’s error count would begin to mount. Nadal's physical strength, his mental toughness and formidable tennis ability make him the undisputed master on clay. As long as he is fit, there appears to be nobody who is capable of bettering him. Certainly not in a best-of-five-set match when there is always so much scope for him to come back from a deficit and for his opponent to falter. One of the most memorable Wimbledon finals was played in 1975 when Arthur Ashe stunned Jimmy Connors, the defending champion who was also the red-hot favourite to retain the title. Nobody gave Ashe, a surprise finalist, much of a chance, but he played to a strategy which worked to perfection and he became a very popular champion. Federer also had a plan in Paris -- he tried to shorten the points, hoping to win them with a minimum of shots. The only problem is that nobody told Nadal about it, and even if he had heard, he would have taken no notice. After all, he may be a brick wall, but each brick is made of solid gold. And one last thing: Rafa, now that you have pocketed another fat cheque, please go out and buy yourself a nice pair of tennis shorts: You can afford them!
