Nadal and Li capture 2011 French Open titles
Stop me when you’ve heard this before: French Open finals, Federer vs. Nadal. In their storied rivalry, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have met 24 times with Nadal coming out the victor 16 times, six of which have come in a Grand Slam final. Federer, who earned his place in the finals after defeating Novak Djokovic and ending his run of 43 consecutive wins, looked to be playing the best clay court game he’s played in a while.
Yesterday, in what seemed to be déjà vu all over again, Nadal of Spain showed how relentless he is on the red clay of Roland Garros as he defeated Federer of Switzerland in four sets, 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1. Just three years ago, Federer and Nadal met in the finals at Roland Garros, where Federer could only win four games. After being embarrassed then, many fans were unsure of what they would see from the 16-time Grand Slam champion this past Sunday.
As the match began, many including myself, had to rub their eyes to see whether they were seeing the television correctly. In just over 30 min., Federer had himself a 5-2 lead in the first set. Serving for the set at 5-3 on set point, Federer’s drop shot just barely bounced wide, evening the game at deuce. From there, Nadal never looked back. The world’s number one-ranked player broke Federer and followed it up with a hold to tie the set at five apiece.
Nadal then broke Federer once more and went on to serve out the set leaving everyone in a state of shock. Nadal continued his run, going up a break on Federer in the second set. With a few well-placed winners, Federer was able to break back, but eventually fell in a tie-break. Down yet another break in the third set at 4-2, it seemed as if the end was very near for Federer. However, with nothing left to lose, Federer opened up his arsenal and started to hit a better ball forcing Nadal into some uncharacteristic mistakes. Federer would steal the third set 7-5.
Federer gave us the impression that there might be a way this match could go five sets., as he held triple break point in Nadal’s opening service game, but could not convert. From there, it was all Nadal, feeding off the energy of holding serve, Nadal put the match away decisively in the fourth set, 6-1, earning his sixth Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and his 10th Grand Slam title overall. Nadal now heads to the grass courts at Wimbledon to defend his title and his number one ranking.
On the women’s side, Li Na of China otherwise formally pronounced Na Li, captured her first ever Grand Slam singles title, becoming the first player from China ever to do so. She took out defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-4, 7-6(0). Schiavone may have been the slight favorite coming into the match, but Na would not be denied for a second grand slam final in a row. Falling in the finals of the Australian Open earlier this year, Na was able to keep her emotions in tact and close out the Italian in the second set tiebreaker. Heavy hitting from the Chinese sensation was too much for Schiavone to overcome. As Na travels to the grass courts at Wimbledon, she will be considered a serious threat to take the title there as well.
