For the past few years, tennis has not gotten much attention and rightfully so. There hasn’t been the Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi matches that invigorated even the not-so-big tennis fan. I remember one of the last really good matches I saw was the Sampras-Agassi US Open final. Since then I haven’t seen a tennis match that glued me to my chair.After Sampras and Agassi left tennis, I found a certain emptiness in tennis. I was able to watch their matches with an excitement that is there no longer there. There was supposed to be the future of tennis in Andy Roddick. He was supposed to be the next great American tennis player. But I feel like he has had more famous girlfriends than Grand Slam appearances.
So we were kind of stuck with an unexcitefull tennis for a while.
I went to the 2004 US Open final between Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt in early September. It was a pretty good performance by Federer beating Hewitt in straight sets but I left the US Open kind of saying, “ah alright.”
So from then on I have seen little bits and pieces of tennis matches. And from what I have seen, there hasn’t been that Sampras, Agassi or dominant player for that matter.
Until now.
Raphael Nadal would make his Debut in the French Open and have a strong one. Nadal would beat Federer, the number one player in the world, in the semi-finals. Nadal would show his breakneck speed and vicious forehand in the match that made me do a double-take. When Nadal beat Federer, I thought it was quite an accomplishment. Little did I know, the best is yet to come.
Nadal would then move on to face Mariano Puerta in the French open final. The match was exciting from beginning to end. The energy the Nadal played with was something I haven’t seen in a long time. It was a tight match, and after being covered in dust from head to toe, Nadal would win the final. After the win, I knew this guy could possibly bring back the luster that there once was with Sampras and Agassi.
Nadal is only the second man to ever win the French Open in his Debut joining Wilander. Puerta was later heard saying, “He brought out the best in me. I lost to an excellent player. He’s the best player in the world.”
2 replies on “There is a New Era in Tennis: The Nadal Era”
common courtesy If your not going to vote for my article you should at least say why.
Kind of backfired on you….. At Wimbledon, didn’t it?
Don’t want to say it, but at least your article has elicited discussion….:)
I do make him one of the favorites for the ATP Championship in Germany when it happens, though; as well as the US Open at Flushing Meadow. The kid’s got game….