We’ve been waiting for this one. The current No. 2 and 3 players in the world, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, have somehow avoided facing each other since the Davis Cup final in December 2004. Each has pretty much resided in the Top 10 since then, but the American and Spaniard have never had a chance to get any kind of rivalry off the ground.
Which is a shame, because these two guys are natural combatants (not enemy combatants). Where Roger Federer brings a laconic side to his matches with Roddick and Nadal, the latter two are both fiery and hard-charging, but in different ways. Nadal is long hair, bandannas, loud clothes, heavy topspin, and “Vamos!” Roddick is all-whites, baseball hats, brutal serves, and “---- yeah!”
They've played twice, but as Roddick said last night, you can’t take too much from either of their previous matches. The first encounter came in the second round of the 2004 U.S. Open, and it was an old-fashioned late-night New York City mugging. Roddick was the defending champion, while Nadal was just beginning to appear on the radar screen. I remember Nadal doing an early fist-pump that Roddick took exception to. So much so that he got as fired up as I’ve ever seen him, and played about as well as he ever has. He won the first 6-0 and made Nadal’s strokes look like batting-practice puffballs.
Their next meeting came at the Davis Cup a few months later, in a setting 180 degrees from the first. It was on slow red clay in Seville, Spain, before the biggest crowd ever to watch a non-exhibition tennis match. Nadal won in four close sets. He could have done it in straights, except that he choked the first-set tiebreaker away, losing it 8-6 after being ahead. My main memory of that match is Roddick barreling forward on nearly everything and winning points at net despite some less-than-smooth volleying technique. He survived up there because Nadal forgot about the lob; Roddick was able to drape himself over the net. Still, with the monster crowd—including Spanish royalty—behind him, Nadal ground Roddick down and ran away with the fourth set 6-2. I also remember he was slightly happy when he won; I think he may have somersaulted from the baseline to the net.
The third edition of Roddick-Nadal will take place Saturday on a court unlike the first two. The surface at Indian Wells is hard, but it plays a little like clay. Watching Nadal beat Juan-Ignacio Chela yesterday, I was reminded of how tough Nadal is on clay. He has time to roam deep behind the baseline and defend, but he can also turn the tables with his forehand or throw in a drop shot after he pushes his opponent back. In this tournament, the Spaniard has been slightly below his best, but he’s raised his game at the end of sets—he beat Chela 7-5, 7-5.
Roddick has played about as well as he can. He was practicing his forehand like a madman early in the week, and it’s paid off. After his two-tiebreaker win over Ivan Ljubicic last night, Roddick mentioned that he thought his forehand was clicking, and that it was the reason for his current good form. He’ll come into this match motivated (to say the least)—this is his only chance to beat a higher-ranked player without having to go up against Sire Jacket. But I also think Roddick has gained respect for Nadal over the years. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to Nadal’s inevitable fist-pumps and other exhortations this time around.
