Monday, May 21, 2007

81 out

This is not the highest score by an Indian batsmen against Bangladesh :D, this is the number of consecutive wins on clay by a tennis player. Guess who he is. Obviously the one and only Rafael Nadal. And the streak ended at 81 because he was carrying an injury, and of course the player who he was playing was the great Roger Federer. Can you guess the age of Rafa? Its 20!!
Isn't it amazing, that a guy who is just 20 already has his name in the record books of Tennis. Do you know, the second highest consecutive wins on clay is by Guillermo Vilas and its a mere 53. Nadal's streak is the highest on any surface. The second highest is by the great John McEnroe's 75-match streak on indoor carpet. Nadal is currently the No. 2 ranked player in the world, and he has broken the record in this department also. He has been ranked No. 2 for more consecutive weeks than any player in the history of the computer rankings maintained by the ATP.
In today's world where the competition has reached to an unbelievable level, there is a 20 year old who is breaking all the records even in the presence of Roger Federer, whom many guys believe to be the all time greatest player on the earth. I hope this guy plays for atleast 15 more years which is very much feasible by looking at him. He does not resemble an orthodox tennis player, he has biceps like of a body builder. He runs like a sprinter. He wears sleevless t-shirts and a 3/4 pant. Yes he is a tennis player.
He is the undisputed king of clay. He does well on other surfaces also but clay suits him the most. He is not one of the game's biggest servers. Nor he has great back hand. But, his fore hand is too deadly, with a lot of pace and spin. No one can hit passing shots like him. He can change defense to attack at any shot. And if you tried a drop shot against this guy, then its a bonus for him. He will easily reach there and hit the winner. Agassi said in an interview after his match against Nadal at Wimbledon, "You can not volley against him. He is too fast.".
I hope this guy breaks as many records as possible. Vamos Nadal.