Nadal the Rome master while Henin wins Stuttgart
Rafael Nadal continued to assert his clay-court dominance in 2010 with victory at the Rome Masters 1000 over the weekend, while Justine Henin won the first title of her comeback at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
For tennis fans, there’s something reassuring in the familiarity of the results. A sense that order has been restored in the clay-court season as the pair of four-times French Open champions each climbed to the top of the pile on the dirt courts.
For Nadal, the Rome title holds extra significance as his 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, equalling the record set by Andre Agassi across his illustrious career. Nadal has reached the milestone at just 23, who knows how many Maters 1000 titles the Spaniard might claim by the time his already glittering career has finished.
Indeed, it’s not unreasonable to think that by the end of the Madrid Masters 1000 – on clay – this month Nadal will hold the record in his own right.
It was not all one-way traffic for Nadal in the final against Spanish counterpart David Ferrer, who forced the first set to 7-5, although it is fair to say the former world No. 1 had the answers to most of Ferrer’s questions. Nadal then took the second 6-2 to clinch his fifth Rome title in six years.
“I didn't have any problems with my knees the whole week which is unbelievable for me, for the last two tournaments, and so that is very important for me,” said Nadal after the match. “But now is not the moment to talk about my knees.”
Perhaps not, but it’s worth noting that Nadal is fully fit less than a month out from the French Open, and his decision to pull out of the Barcelona Open, sandwiched between the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and Rome, to allow his body time to recover from the rigours of winning the former.
“The important thing is that I've won a very important tournament and I’m very happy. Probably I didn't play as well as Monte Carlo, but the important thing is winning,” Nadal said.
In Stuttgart, Henin, at the third time of asking in a final since her return to tennis in January, sealed the first tournament victory of her comeback, defeating the in-form Samantha Stosur 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the final.
"I never thought I'd be back in Stuttgart a year ago. And especially for it to be on clay now, it means a lot to me," Henin said after winning her 42nd career title.
There were some tense moments though, as the Belgian’s forehand went missing in action during the second set and Stosur, fresh from winning the title on green clay at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, threatened to capitalise on Henin’s sudden drop in form.
Yet in the third, the unseeded Henin recovered from that slump to leave spectators wondering if the second set had just been a bad dream as she upped the ante to play more aggressive tennis and those troublesome forehands almost without exception found their range.
It was a display that would have left some – perhaps not Jelena Jankovic, who in Stuttgart recorded her 10th loss in 10 matches against Henin – with a few ideas of how they might find a way through the 27-year-old’s defences on the red clay.
It’s also a win that can also be warning that three years after her last Roland Garros title, the last two Paris majors being played in the diminutive champion’s absence, Henin might still be the one to beat at the clay court Grand Slam this year.
As for Nadal, we already know the gauntlet has been thrown. It’s just a matter of whether anyone is capable of picking it up.
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