128 men started in the French Open 2013 field, and now we are down to the final two, and what a final this one promises to be.
The final will be an all-Spanish affair after Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer came through contrasting semi-finals to reach the climax of the French Open.
Nadal came through a physically and mentally taxing semi-final against Novak Djokovic, coming from 2-4 down in the fifth set and requiring a 9-7 final set to eventually triumph in five sets (only the second time ever he’s been taken the distance in Paris).
Ferrer overcame the crowd and the big threat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to not just break French hearts, but also record another straight sets victory to reach his first Grand Slam final at the ripe old age of 31.
Djokovic’s loss will mean that he will have to wait yet at least another 12 months for his chance to complete a Career Grand Slam, while France’s wait for a French Open finalist will extend into another 12 months with Tsonga’s defeat.
And so, this promises to be a beauty. It will be the first all-Spanish decider since Albert Costa upset Juan Carlos Ferrero to win his only French Open title in 2002, and the first one-nation decider since Argentinians Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria fought out an epic 2004 French Open decider which Gaudio won after coming from two sets down, and saving a championship point late in the fifth set.
Full preview of the 2013 French Open men’s final preview.
Rafael Nadal versus David Ferrer
Head-to-head: Nadal 18-5
Last meeting: Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, quarter-finals, 2013 Rome Masters.
Road to the final
Nadal
Round 1: bt Daniel Brands 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3
Round 2: bt Martin Kilzan 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Round 3: bt Fabio Fognini 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4
Round 4: bt Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
Quarter final: bt Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1
Semi-final: bt Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7
Ferrer
Round 1: bt Marinko Matosevic 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Round 2: bt Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-1, 6-3
Round 3: bt Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 7-5, 6-4
Round 4: bt Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
Quarter final: bt Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-1, 6-1
Semi final: bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
This match has the potential to be an epic battle of the gladiators, unlike the expected one-sided contest which is expected to occur between the women.
Rafael Nadal will be going for his eighth title at the French Open, something that would see him become the first man in the Open Era to win more than seven titles at the same Major, and cement his place as one of the greatest men in the history of tennis.
Already, Nadal is one of the greatest – he has won over 24 Masters Series titles, the most of any man, has been ranked World No. 1 and is the only active man to have achieved a Career Golden Slam.
The only significant title that he is missing is the year-end championships title, which he came closest to winning in 2010 until Roger Federer denied him in the championship match.
However, standing in his way of an eighth title in Paris will be his friend and lower-profile Spanish compatriot, David Ferrer, who, after more than a decades’ service to men’s tennis, will be making his first Grand Slam final debut at the ripe old age of 31.
Ferrer is one of the great gladiators of men’s tennis and his never-say-die attitude ranks along with Lleyton Hewitt’s as one of the most determinant in men’s tennis. He has reached at least the fourth round of his last twelve Grand Slam tournaments, including at least the quarter-finals of his last six.
But this will be his first Grand Slam final after more than a decade of trying. Victory on Sunday would see him become the oldest first-time Grand Slam men’s singles champion since Andres Gimeno won the French Open at age 34 in 1972.
Either way, the men’s tournament will continue a long era of Spanish domination at Roland Garros. Since Carlos Moya won his only French Open (and Grand Slam) title in 1998, there have only been four unique non-Spanish champions (Andre Agassi in 1999, Gustavo Kuerten in 2000 and 2001, Gaston Gaudio in 2004 and Roger Federer in 2009).
Nadal and Ferrer have taken contrasting paths to get to where they are now. Nadal had to endure two false starts in his first two matches, dropping the first set against both Daniel Brands and Martin Klizan before defeating each in four sets, while in his semi-final against Novak Djokovic he was taken the distance, the final set in that match stretching to 9-7.
Ferrer on the other hand has not dropped a set in pursuit of his first Grand Slam final. Only in the semi-finals was he even challenged, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took him to a second set tiebreak which Ferrer ended up winning soundly.
The head-to-head overall may be lopsided, but in Grand Slam play it is equal. The pair are locked at 2-all, Nadal winning both their meetings at the French Open (2005 and 2012), and Ferrer winning the other two on hard court (2007 US Open and 2011 Australian Open, the latter denying Rafa the chance to hold all four Major titles simultaneously).
Their most recent meeting in a final was in the clay court tournament in Acapulco, which Nadal won in straight sets to set himself up for a return to the big time.
Nadal will shoot for a seventh title in what will be his tenth final from ten tournaments since returning from injury at the start of the year. Afterwards, he will have nothing to defend for the remainder of the year, having been forced to miss every tournament after Wimbledon last year due to a serious knee injury.
But even if he defends his title in Paris, David Ferrer will overtake him in the world rankings after picking up another 500 rankings points or so; this would elevate Ferrer back to No. 4 in the rankings, and relegate Nadal down to fifth with the possibility of having to face one of Federer or Djokovic in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
The verdict
Nadal has been there and done it all before, while for Ferrer this will be unknown territory; he has previously reached so many high-level finals, but this one will test how far he has come in the past decade.
He has the game to beat Nadal; he won their first ever meeting at Stuttgart in 2004, but that would be his only ever victory against Nadal on clay.
Ferrer has not beaten Nadal since the 2011 Australian Open, but on that occasion, Nadal was injured and that derailed his bid to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam tournaments at once.
Nadal will be the man to beat and for him to be taken down it would require the most titanic of efforts from Ferrer.
Prediction
Rafael Nadal in four sets.
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