Who will win US Open 2011? – Part Seven: Rafael Nadal
As our series here at bettor.com nears its end, we almost reach the top of the ranking. With only two players left in the top ten, we analyse the King of Clay and the former world number one, Rafael “Rafa” Nadal in this latest part of the series.
The top ranked Spaniard and one of three in the top ten, Rafa is a phenomenon in the tennis world. Touted as one of the greatest player’s of all time, the Spaniard started his ascent on clay though he soon mastered the “green” and “blue grey” surfaces as well. An unstoppable force on clay, Rafa took only a year to become a favourite at every Grand Slam going toe-to-toe with the then “tennis great-now dwindled” Roger Federer.
Starting the year ranked number one the world, Rafa failed to prove his top billing in the tennis world. Competing at the season opening event at Doha, Rafa suffered from a nasty flu bout that made his semi-final loss inevitable. Coming into the Grand Slam Down Under, Rafa was expected to hold all four Grand Slams at one time – a feat hyped as the Rafa Slam and one never achieved by anyone since 1969. However, the Fates spun a different thread as Rafa fell to compatriot, the number two Spaniard David Ferrer in the semis. An unlucky defeat for the Spanish King!
What followed next was a series of final losses for the Great One as he fell one after the other to the Serbian juggernaut, Novak Djokovic. Losing at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome, the Rafa Djoker head-to-head took a major hit as the season start 9 match deficit was suddenly reduced to just five matches. Although Rafa managed to win two titles in Djoker’s absence, the mental block he suffered against the Serb shattered his confidence considerably as witnessed by the tennis world in July when the Spaniard failed to defend his Wimbledon crown as he met the Serb for the fifth time in the season. Resuming the hard court season after Wimbledon, Rafa played at the Montreal Masters, only to lose in his first match there to Ivan Dodig. Following with a quarterfinal showing at the Cincinnati Masters, an injured Rafa was ejected from the event by Mardy Fish.
Although a defending champion at the US Open, Rafa’s chances of a title win are considerably slimmed by his new found rivalry with the Serb. His failure to defeat the Serb in not one but five finals this year has shattered his confidence completely.
However, should Rafa be able to overcome his fear of the Serb, the Spaniard is and has been a major candidate for a title win at Grand Slams. Debuting in 2003 at Flushing Meadows, Rafa put in two back-to-back semi-final appearances at 2008 and 2009 before making it big last year as he clinched his third Grand Slam of the season and first US Open title to complete his Career Grand Slam.
Expected to make it all the way to the semi-finals, Rafa can expect to meet either Federer or Britain’s hope Andy Murray in the semis. Having defeated the Brit in two Grand Slam semi-finals this year and the Swiss in the final of Roland Garros, the Spaniard is expected to move past the world number two and four with much ease. The only challenge that remains for the Spaniard is the Serb. Given the Djoker’s current run, the Spaniard will need nothing short of a miracle to successfully defend his title here.
The series concludes in http://www.senore.com/Who-will-win-US-Open-2011-Part-Eight-Novak-Djokovic-a94935, as we take a look at the Serbian juggernaut, Novak Djokovic and his chances at the 2011 US Open title.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and have nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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