Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Roland Garros, The Tennis UFC
Who would have thought that a small bottle of men's cologne would ever generate a good tennis column?
Well, not me, but heck if it didn't. A friend of mine was over my house and noticed a new bottle of cologne I have called NoBs Alpha Male. The box it came in is clearly lettered with "Alpha Male." The cologne is a new one, advertised to be a scent for the true male. Nothing fancy. Nothing feminine. Just one masculine fragrance.
My friend spotted the bottle and turned to me asking, "remember when tennis had alpha males?" "Yeah, I remember," I replied. He and I were thinking the same things. The men's professional game used to be full of them. Just men. Masculine. Jimmy Connors. John McEnroe. Ion Tiriac. Ilie Nastase. Rod Laver. John Newcombe. Pete Sampras and the legendary Bjorn Borg. Each one pure man. each one a champion. Each one dominant. Confident. Put two of them on the same court and it was just testosterone versus testosterone. Two men enter, one man leaves.
My friend asked me who I think are today's alpha males. Good question. With the French Open in full swing, this is the time and tournament to reveal them. The slow, deep red, French clay is known for its extended points, long rallies, and equally long matches. Feats of endurance and pure brute strength. Each match the supreme test of man against man. After a full week of the tournament, the true alpha males should be still in play. True to form, yes they are.
If there was one on player on court who today epitomizes the alpha male, however, it's Rafael Nadal. Perfect in body, perilous in his play, brute strength and speed his primary weapons. Having only lost once on clay since 2005 Nadal is proving to be the dominant man at Roland Garros. He has moved into the quarterfinals without having to go more then three sets in any match. His matches have been displays of nothing short of invincibility. Strength and spin. Just watching him walk onto the clay court you can feel the fear in his opponents.
Clearly, he is the favorite here after again dominating the clay court season. Rafa has handled everyone this spring, including Novak Djokovic and Federer back-to-back in Hamburg just prior to arriving on the soil of France. He is the leader. Nadal is on his way to the final, where he most likely will meet the other "alpha male" on tour, Roger Federer.
Roger is still the best player in the game, and still the best player on the planet. Dominant in a different way than Nadal. Roger has a swagger in his step. Not cocky, but confident. He is the king of the hill. He's still in the draw, and barring something totally unforeseen he will arrive at Court Chartier for the tennis version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nadal versus Federer. Four years in a row.
The only thing really standing in the way of the fourth showdown is the emerging alpha male Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is new to the top of the mountain, and dominates the men's game on all surfaces. He was victorious in Australia and has been challenged only by Nadal, falling in three hours to Nadal in Hamburg. When the two meet in the semis, the air on the court will be thick and tense, like two lions challenging for leader of the pride. Djokovic seems to be one of only two humans on the planet who can stand in the way of Nadal winning his fourth French Open in a row, a feat only ever matched by Borg.
Federer has a tough quarterfinal matchup with Fernando Gonzalez and while Roger has been winning, he has not breezed through in the way Rafa has. Gonzalez, on a good day, will give Federer all he can handle. Roger will emerge victorious, and then nothing will match the final. When Roger and Rafa stand at the net before the final, it will be today's most dominant players ready to do battle. There will be confidence in their steps. Fire in their eyes. Testosterone everywhere. Just no bull alpha male versus alpha male.