Rafael Nadal successfully defended his Rome Masters title by beating this year’s Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2,6-2 in an authoritative display of clay court tennis. While winning the title Nadal did succeed to create a bunch of new records, the fact that he succeeded in avenging three of his defeats this year must be a special reason for happiness. Mikhail Youzhny, Novak Djokovic and Fernando Gonzalez have had success against Nadal this year on hard-courts, but found their weapons inadequate in threatening Nadal on clay.

A disturbing news for Nadal’s rivals for this year French Open is that Nadal is playing much more aggressive than last year. He is finishing off points quickly by coming to the net, taking a lesser swing on his forehand, thus taking the ball early and his backhand too has become sharper. On the whole he is playing an attacking brand of tennis, thus spending less time on the court. His 77^th straight win on clay has placed him as a firm favorite for the French Open, starting on May 27^th.

No rivals on Clay:

With Roger Federer facing a dip in form and confidence, there is at present no clear rival for him for the title. The players who could do the damage are Nikolay Davydenko (lost to Nadal in the Rome semi-finals in a classic three-setter), Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Guillermo Canas, Fernando Gonzalez and Tommy Robredo. But whether any of them has the game or the confidence to beat the king on his favourite surface remains to be seen.