French Open Betting / Alsy / 23 May 2008 /

Morgan in the driving seat - Allsy tells us why apart from being the perfect human specimen, Rafael Nadal also has the clay court game to triumph in Paris...again.

Roger Federer reminds us that power is nothing without control and creativity. He's brought a level of consistency and precision to the game that has many calling him the best player in the history of the sport. There's just one problem concerning this hypothetical coronation - the champion with no discernable weaknesses is yet to secure a grand slam or a French Open title.

To my mind Federer is just a formidable on clay as any other surface but the French Open still eludes him largely because of a player who is surely the best clay-court specialist that the world has ever seen.

300 Spartans managed to spectacularly derail the plans of King Xerxes at the pass of Thermopylea but eventually they all perished. Unfortunately on clay I suspect that Federer, despite his outrageous talent, may never find his way past a player who has won all 23 matches he's played at Roland Garros and is still only 21-years-old.

Nadal is affectionately known as The Ogre in France. In part it's a reference to his physical gifts (6ft 1in and 13.39st of pure muscle) but it also reflects his ability to bamboozle opponents with a battery of shots you suspect might fell a brick wall given enough time.

More importantly, the brick wall would most likely quit before Nadal would concede defeat. Nadal's relaxed and affable demeanor off court is in stunning contrast to his obvious passion to win on it and if he triumphs again at the French Open for the fourth consecutive year, he'll match Borg's record.

His heavy topspun forehand is only too familiar to opponents. It takes great technique to hit the ball with such precision and power - his forehand clears the net with considerable height, (reducing the margin for error), before oodles of topspin send the ball accelerating back to earth like a scud missile.

His two-handed backhand can be returned flat or with topspin... either way Nadal can produce winners on either side. Force him to hit on the run and he becomes more aggressive - this is a player who refuses to cede an inch to opponents eagerly running down every lost cause until he produces a familiar stroke of genius.

You don't make the top 100 if you're not strong of mind and body but Nadal is also rarely defeated in an endurance game. Few players can live with him on any surface but Nadal seems to get a kick from clay comparable to Popeye's love of spinach. Clay court tennis is usually attritional in the men's game but what mortal can hope to defeat an ogre who refuses to budge?

Certainly Roger Federer is finding it increasingly difficult. It was Federer who ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay a year ago but since then you could argue that the Spaniard has actually improved his game. His serve (usually perceived as the weakest part of his game) offers greater variation that two years ago while his performances on other surfaces, (especially on grass), continues to improve.

Nadal's recent victory at the Hamburg Open was the sort of comeback usually confined to fiction. When he called for the trainer at 5-1 down in the opening set some thought he was going to quit and save his efforts for the French Open. Nadal may have some minor faults on court but gamesmanship is not among them. He played on and won the first set before securing another victory 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 so who would bet against him at Roland Garros next week? Very few at present and certainly not me.

You can back Nadal to win next week in Paris at [1.73]. Federer is [5.9] and Djokovic is [7.6] to produce an upset but all eyes will be on Nadal. It will be a pleasure and a privilege to watch one of the greatest champions, and all-around sportsman of the modern era, at the height of his powers.

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