Baseline Boom Boom
Last night I got to see a slug-fest. This time the fight was scripted with a tennis ball over a synthetic court. If you are a tennis buff, you might guess I am talking about the Nadal – Potro semifinal in the US open championships. And boy what a slug-fest it was !
Del Potro
I have never been too much of a fan of Nadal’s game play ( although as a player he is remarkable – and has all my respect) . The reason is that most of his games are a agony to watch. He just keeps repeating his trademark power shots and generally runs circles around his opponents – thanks to his fitness. His game doesn’t have that edge, that a Federer game can have. Nonetheless he wins on most occasions – and that was what was expected against the Argentinian.
It turns out however that Juan Martin del Potro had plans of his own. Rafael Nadal for once looked liked he had met the player who could run circles around his own circles. The harder Nadal hit the ball – the harder it came back, and deeper did it land ! Potro’s shots kissed the baseline on many occasions – sending the usually dominating Nadal into the far reaches of the court. The rallies reminded me of tennis in the last century, only this time the rallies were much faster and it looked like both were giving their best (and not just trading shots).
Boom Boom is what best describes the tennis that was on display. Serving at nearly 130 miles an hour – Potro decimated Nadal in three sets (6-2 , 6-2 , 6-2). The commentators we repeatedly telling us that they were seeing the new face of tennis. The 6 foot 6 inch tall Potro has a languid quality of movement – he looks very graceful as he lopes on the court – a contrast to the hard running that Nadal does. And thanks to his height he doesn’t take long to reach from one end to the court to another.
Tennis however is more about temperament than talent – especially at the highest levels where the most talented are pitted against each other. How much of a temperament Potro has – remains to be seen at the final. But he has impressed many in this match. And the winner of the other semi final better not see video footage of this match – lest he gets demoralized by the way he disposed Nadal.
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