Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to lead an action-packed Golden Swing in coming weeks
King of Clay Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic look to headline the Golden Swing as the hardcourt season is about to come to a temporary end.
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
The tennis tour is very well defined on the calendar, in terms of seasons and surfaces. For professionals in the highest echelon, the path is clear. Begin with Australia or New Zealand, head into Melbourne for the season’s first Grand slam, the Australian Open, and then move towards the United States of America.
Be it men or women, the journey is almost the same, beginning with hard courts outdoors in a different hemisphere where the sun blazes, before the season climaxes in the form of the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, US. In a short span of time, the swing will be from hard to clay — the surface. There will also be a change in the swing of the racket, the pattern of play, and how players approach a slower surface.
Be it men’s tennis or women’s tennis, the clear demarcation means players have to prepare in the right earnest for the next season, clay. By nature, the surface is slower, and less hard on the body, especially the joints. Some may find tennis on clay slower but there is no denying the clay season has its own charm. The spring and then summer of 2023 will be even more special as two of the greatest exponents, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will aspire to start winning matches and titles again.
Sounds easy, isn’t it? For Nadal, the forced break after the injury at the Australian Open has meant a long absence. Injuries are now a part of his anatomy, they are there in almost every region. Add to it his dropping out of the ATP Top 10 for the first time in such a long period of time, over 15 years, his fans are waiting with bated breath. Nadal fans are in the millions, just as they are there for Novak.
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Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have signed up for Monte-Carlo
Yet, when the clay swing begins, starting with Houston in Texas, and then gently peaking in Monte Carlo, both Nadal, and Djokovic will be there. One guy had to take a break because of working on full fitness and rehab while the Serbian star was on an enforced break, due to his unvaccinated status. The moment these two guys figure in the draws, be it Monte Carlo, Rome, or the French Open at Roland Garros, the conversation and narrative change.
In terms of fitness, Novak has been a bull. He had said after the 22nd Grand Slam title wins at the 2023 Australian Open, each year he plays will be a bonus. Yet, he had talked of wanting to win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be on clay. When stars are young, it is easier to make predictions. In mid-30s, which is the case with both Rafa and Novak, every day, every week is a challenge.
Rafa resembles a war hero, battered and bruised, in every sense. The wear and tear his body has taken makes him prone to more injuries. Yet, fans know clay will bring out the best in him, where injury chances are relatively less. At least, that is the belief. By nature, Rafa has been a grinder on the court, he can muscle his way to wins, first by wearing down opponents and then tearing them down. Novak has also been one of his victims in the past.
Players complaining of slow courts, things are only getting worse
These days, there are so many younger and fitter players out there, like Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and the more dynamic players like Daniil Medvedev. Anyone who thinks clay is for tennis players who execute slice, hang in, rally, and can hit 30 shots in a rally are fools. Playing on clay has changed, wherein even a convert can force results and matches. Nobody wins just by slowing down the pace of the game.
All the players who complained Indian Wells was slow should not expect the clay season to get faster. That is the nature of the beast, surface speed and ball will travel slower. Clay tennis needs patience and persistence. Rafa has it, proof of which are his 14 French Open titles. Imagine, that’s like winning 98 matches without a loss, spread over 28 weeks. Phew. Can he do it again? Yes and no. Rafa has become injury prone, though he knows mentally he can wear out opponents.
Novak included. The key in the clay season will not really be his strokes and seeding etc, but how he is fit. It has to be 100 percent, where again, any injury can crop up. That’s the unpredictability factor these days haunting the Spanish king. Does that give Novak an edge? Certainly not, he has never been a traditional slow-court player, though he has won two French Open titles and almost another dozen titles in ATP Tour events (clay).
The key will be how he destroys opponents with his cunning. Just imagine, when he had a hamstring tear in Melbourne this January, he kept it taped and improved day by day. It is that beast mode of Novak which brings the best out of him. Anyone who wants to write off these two superstars — Rafa and Novak — will be foolish. Their experience will mean so much that they need not even play more than two events before the French Open key test.
The WTA locker room is turning into a pseudo-war zone
Other youngsters or wannabe stars will probably be polishing their strokes and boots more on clay to sharpen their skills! Ah, perfection on clay does not come in days or weeks! The women’s side looks more open, in 2023. The clay season will be thrilling, for sure. Iga Swiatek, defending FO champion, has been up and down. This will be her chance to show she is really No.1 in the world. But then, there are half a dozen more girls out there, from Europe and America.
These days, there is too much bitch talk in the women’s locker room. Russia versus Ukraine has spilled into locker rooms! There is a different war going on. And when you have power girls like Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and some Ukraine plus Russian girls also there, it’s going to be a war on clay courts! Tennis fans will love it. After all handshakes and hugs are over. There is more than a cuss word plus expletives being muttered under the breath.
By the time it climaxes in Paris, women would peak in body language! Women’s tennis is the least predictable, more so on clay. There are players like Coco Gauff waiting to make it big. At the same time, in the clay season, unknown girls will crop up and can make a difference. It is this open look in the women’s section that will liven up the clay season. Oh wait, Aunty Venus Williams also wants to give it a shot!
At 42, the old lady has teased fans on Insta, she may try and give it a shot at the French Open. During her peak, when she won seven Grand Slam titles, five were on grass (Big W) and two at the US Open. Now ranked in the 600 region, she will need a wild card, just like at the AO. Hope, she is just kidding. Tennis on clay is no joke, you have to be ready to grind it out, game-wise and mentally.
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S Kannan
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