Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent:

Nadal lost just 35 games in seven matches at Roland Garros: his aura has been well and truly restored to its former glory.

He has 10 titles in Paris and on the evidence of the past fortnight could make it a round dozen if he can avoid the injuries which have so often held him back.

He is back within three Grand Slam titles of Roger Federer - both clearly have the power to add to their tally - and the world number one position could be his by the end of Wimbledon.

He is closing in on Andy Murray, who has a mountain of points to defend on the grass.

'Who's going to stop him?' - expert analysis on BBC Radio 5 live

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash: "I'm totally shocked to see him do it. I didn't think I'd see him come back to win another Slam, let alone emphatically.

"You can't look too far ahead in the world of sport but who's going to stop him? He could get another couple of French Open titles.

"Perhaps he can go into the grass court season with nothing to lose. Andy Murray at his best will give him a great run but if Rafa comes up and starts whipping the balls all over the place like he has here, he'll be really dangerous."

Three-time French Open winner Mats Wilander: "Mike Tyson had a gameplan until he got punched in the mouth and that's what happens when you play Nadal. You get out there and realise 'hold on a second, I don't even know how to win points, let alone sets'.

"Four games he dropped at most - in any match and any set. That's incredible.

"There are so many improvements to his game that he's a better player now than he was when he won Wimbledon two times before."

French Open doubles finalist Fabrice Santoro on playing against Nadal: "You have someone over the other side of the net who is so strong physically, who hits the ball that hard, and plays every single point like a match point. We are not talking about winning a match, set or a game. Winning one point is difficult."


http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/40242054

-----

Why Rafael Nadal winning a tenth French Open would be greatest achievement in history of the sport 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2017/05/26/rafael-nadal-winning-tenth-french-open-would-greatest-achievement/

In terms of sporting dynasties, this is an outlier. In squash, Jahangir Khan went unbeaten between the spring of 1981 and the winter of 1986. The 400m hurdler Ed Moses overcame all-comers for just under a decade, starting in August 1977. But to achieve Nadal’s level of dominance in tennis, the most global of sports, is mind-boggling.

“This is by far the best tennis I have ever seen Rafa play,” said the Eurosport commentator and former British number one Greg Rusedski. “And at 31 years of age, that is frightening. Absolutely no-one would have beaten him today, no chance whatsoever. All these extra layers he’s put into his game makes him unstoppable, like a new guy out there. And to do that at his age is so difficult. He’s on track possibly to catch up with Roger [Federer] in Grand Slam titles.”

So what are those “extra layers”, in Rusedski’s words, that Nadal has added to his game? His serve is beefier, and his forehand deeper, but the real change has come on the backhand. He doesn’t bother to run around it any more, but takes it early in the mould of Novak Djokovic, making it a weapon in its own right. The parallel with Federer, whose Australian Open triumph was also built on a reinvented backhand, are impossible to ignore.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2017/06/11/rafael-nadal-vs-stan-wawrinka-french-open-final-live-score/


P. S.


B92 ponedeljak, 9.06.2014. | 15:05

Kafeljnikov : Poslednji Nadalov RG

Dok se svetski mediji pitaju da li je Rafael Nadal na putu da postane najbolji teniser svih vremena, Jevgenij Kafeljnikov izneo je veoma hrabru prognozu.

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/vesti.php?yyyy=2014&mm=06&dd=09&nav_id=858748