FRENCH OPEN UPDATE & CHECKING IN ON RAFAEL NADAL. BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 29th May 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

FRENCH OPEN UPDATE & CHECKING IN ON RAFAEL NADAL. BY CHERYL JONES

epa04230940 Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Dominic Thiem of Austria during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 29 May 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Court Phillippe Chatrier was the scene of another victory for Rafael Nadal Thursday afternoon in Paris. It wasn’t a final match-up, but merely another step up the ladder that is leading to the final Sunday at Roland Garros. June is good for Nadal, as he has celebrated every birthday here since he had his 18th.

From a very young age, Uncle Toni, who is his coach, has been grooming him for these moments. Having taken up tennis at four, he will be turning 28 in five days and he is searching for another trophy to add to his collection. The Coupe des Mousquetaires has been a fixture in his return baggage for eight of the past nine years. This is year ten and he wants to make it nine championships to truly outstrip any player, any time, any place. No one has more titles at the same Grand Slam tournament – ever.

He owns 44 clay titles. With three more, he will surpass Guillermo Vilas who is the present holder of that record at 46. This is his 10th successive appearance at Roland Garros. He took home the title eight of the nine times, with Roger Federer taking it away the only year of his competition that he didn’t. His reign began in 2005 when he turned 18 just before the final of the event. What a birthday present. With all his bravado, it could never have occurred to him in his wildest dreams that the reality would be what it has become.

He is a young man with a clear head on his shoulders and a plan for the future. He loves tennis. He still lives in the same village where he was born, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain. His second love is fishing and when he is home that’s where he can be found, when he isn’t preparing for his next venue. He indicated that he wasn’t particularly fond of the big court where he won his trophies. He said, “Playing on Philippe Chatrier, on the central court, is something difficult. We lose our landmarks. It’s huge, so big, it’s difficult to play on this court.” From my vantage point, it seems as if he hasn’t been too intimidated. He made it 61 wins and only 1 loss with the outcome of today’s competition. It appears that he is pretty darn comfortable here.

Nadal’s wasn’t the only victory today. A number of competitors have made a moves. Jack Sock eliminated a fellow American (and Southern Californian), Steve Johnson. Johnson may be remembered as a college competitor for USC. He took home two NCAA singles championship titles. He is in the big leagues now and his win yesterday, (after finishing up his match from Tuesday, with a French Qualifier, Laurent Lokou in the early afternoon, after the darkness/rain delay, 4‑6, 6‑7, 7‑6, 6‑3, 6‑3, proved it.

After a drought for American players, this time they seem to be trickling back and in a few years, who knows? The other surprise winner today was American Donald Young. He managed to defeat Feliciano Lopez in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. He has been languishing in the wings since he was a youngster who was touted as the heir to the American tennis throne, but he never quite made it. Since he was fourteen years old he has been in the spotlight and until now, it has been like he was really a deer in the headlights. Young looked strong and sure of himself today. Lopez, the more experienced and more highly ranked player was the 26th seed, but today he floundered, bowing to Young’s gutsy moves.

After the match, Young had a lot to say about his victory. First off, he said, “Yeah, actually, I like the big stage a little more than the challengers and everywhere else. I feel like I play better against higher-level players. But, yeah, I just feel like I put the work in and I’m playing well. I’m just letting my game flow and do what it does.”

When asked about any disappointment for his past performances, he answered succinctly, “So I’m not going to be mad it didn’t happen earlier, because, you know, that’s in the past and I can only deal with what’s in the future.” Certainly, wise words to live by.

Ten days from now, Rafael Nadal will surely know whether he can add to his collection of clay court titles. With his new attitude, Donald Young will have his answer as well and if he heeds his own credo, he will be up for whatever the world of professional tennis has to offer.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, Donald Young, French Open, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 29, 2014 at 6:26 pm

FRENCH OPEN UPDATE & CHECKING IN ON RAFAEL NADAL. BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/iIxBDA6Lnt @RafaelNadal @rolandgarros #tennis #FrenchOpen