Rafael Nadal gunning for his seventh Roland Garros title – Tennis Special
King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, is geared up for his seventh title bid at the French Open, second of the four Grand Slam events held on the clay courts in Paris, after conquering the Internazionali BNL D’Italia last week. He is currently on a 16-1 win-loss record on clay which includes three year-to-date titles.
The former world number one is in awesome run of form on dirt this season. He avenged his last year title-round defeat against the Serbian ace Novak Djokovic at the Rome Masters 1000 event but also snatched his second spot back at the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings. Nadal ruled throughout Foro Italico and conquered his entire rivals including the likes of his compatriot, David Ferrer, in straight sets to set up a date with the top seeded Serb.
"I am happy that I won in Rome without losing a set against the best players in the world like [Tomas] Berdych and [David] Ferrer and Djokovic," the ecstatic Spaniard was quoted in a post-match press conference. "I will have this trophy in my bedroom. It is a dream. [I have] the confidence I am playing well and this comes when I play at the right level. Hopefully I will keep playing like this."
The left-handed Spaniard lost his second spot to his fellow former world number one, Roger Federer, after exiting form the early round at the Mutua Madrid Open, a blue clay court Masters 1000 event, earlier this month. He bowed out to his 15th seeded compatriot, Fernando Verdasco, in the third round before entering the Italian Open.
Nadal started his clay court campaign at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and after trashing his entire opponents including Gilles Simon and Djokovic in straight sets, he bagged his maiden title this season.
The 25-year-old carried his momentum into the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, an ATP World Tour 500 event held in the last week of April. He carried his unbeaten run and stomped over his entire challengers without losing a set. Nadal got the better of his compatriots, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer, in the final two rounds to claim his seventh Barcelona title.
Nadal, the 10-time Grand Slam champion, is currently unbeaten on red dirt this circuit and will enter the Stade Roland Garros in high spirit. He was unable to adjust on the new blue clay surface in Madrid but after rebounding on the Italian red clay courts, the defending champion sought his momentum. The high flying Nadal lost to the Serbian number one for seven straight times but got the breakthrough at the Monte Carlo Masters in April where he pocketed the match with a breadstick. After triumphing over Djokovic in the final round again in Rome, the Spaniard became invincible on the red dirt and is looking forward to gun down anyone who stands in his path for his seventh title at the French Open.
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