Tennis World is OK, Rafa Still King! A Trip Down Memory Lane!

Written by: Staff on 23rd April 2012

Tennis World is OK, Rafa Still King! A Trip Down Memory Lane!

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after beating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their quarter final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, early 25 January 2012. Nadal won 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 and 6-3. EPA/JOE CASTRO |

Rafael Nadal remains unbeaten at the Monte Carlo Masters, winning an unprecedented 8th straight title at the prestigious tournament over World #1 Novak Djokovic in the final. In the first ATP 1000 clay event of the year, speculation was rampant over whether or not Djokovic would be able to continue his current dominance of the tour on the clay surface. Djokovic’s toughest opponent this past week was not an opponent he found across the net but rather the traumatizing news of his grandfather’s passing. His psychological wounds looked to be apparent during his 3-set win over a streaky Berdych – continually looking stressed and raising his arms to the sky.

Nadal’s forehand was lethal all week, reminding everyone how deadly Nadal is on clay. Even when Nadal’s opponents had him on the run, there would be numerous instances where he’d find a way to hit a neutral ball that halted any more attacks. From there, it was only a matter of time before Nadal was able to find a forehand to pin his opponent into the backhand corner and keep him there before launching another punishing shot either forcing an error or hitting an outright winner. There’s beauty to this madness on clay, where players can come from the brink of defeat during a point to shifting the balance and winning it with full-fledged aggression and glory.

I stayed busy this weekend not only watching Monte Carlo but revisiting my old college, Brigham Young University. My former team was hosting its final two home matches of the year against conference rivals LMU and #8 Pepperdine. My old coach, Brad Pearce and his wife Cindi welcomed me back along with other alumni members of the team and made us feel at home once again. On top of the tennis matches, I also had a few friends walking in their graduations which I was invited to attend.

I managed to get in a practice with the BYU team on Thursday and the altitude made my head hurt and the balls fly faster than I ever remembered. I thought to myself, “Jeez, how did I ever play up here?!?” But, that thought was immediately replaced by feelings for everyone involved with my old life at school. I realized I had missed everyone so much, the constant smiles and friends who I saw daily. It was a short weekend but I was so happy to reconnect with everyone. Now it’s back to training for the upcoming 112th Ojai tournament this Thursday!