PARIS - Rafael Nadal's phone rang last week. On the other end was Guillermo
Vilas, owner of four Grand Slam titles and the man whose 1977 record for
consecutive victories on clay Nadal was approaching. "I'm angry. You're showing
a lack of respect for your elders," Vilas told the Spanish teen, tongue squarely
in cheek. "If I see you, I don't know what I'm going to do to you."
Defending champion Spain's Rafael Nadal thanks
the crowd after defeating Sweden's Robin Soderling in their first round
match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros
stadium in Paris, Monday May 29, 2006. Nadal won 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 and erases
the record of 53 consecutive wins on clay held by former Argentinian
tennis ace Guillermo Vilas in 1977.[AP] |
Caught off-guard and uncertain whether Vilas was pulling his leg, Nadal
stammered for a moment before catching on. Turns out, they saw each other Monday
on center court at the French Open, and Vilas greeted him with a hug.
Nadal broke Vilas' mark with his 54th straight win on clay, beating Robin
Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 at Roland Garros begin defense of his first
Grand Slam title.
"It's a lot of tournaments, a lot of matches," Nadal said. "Getting the
record here adds something extra."
On-court trophy ceremonies usually are reserved for the closing weekend of a
major tennis tournament. Yet after finishing off Soderling, Nadal was presented
with a rectangular glass box containing the multiple layers of a clay court, and
highlights from his French Open championship were shown on the video screens
overhead.
A tad over the top? Perhaps. But everyone seemed to agree this is an
impressive achievement.
"It may be similar to a Joe DiMaggio streak, where it doesn't seem like it's
ever going to get broken," said the No. 8-seeded James Blake, who could face
Nadal in the quarterfinals. "To win 53 matches in a row, you can't be a little
bit better than the rest of the field. You have to be so far above and beyond."
Vilas, for his part, wasn't all that disappointed to see his record eclipsed.
After all, until Nadal began getting close, the Argentine had no idea he even
owned the mark.
"They never gave me any trophy or anything at the time," Vilas said, smiling.
Nadal improved to 8-0 at Roland Garros — he won the title in his debut — and
he hasn't lost on clay since April 8, 2005, against Igor Andreev at Valencia,
Spain. There were moments of shakiness against Soderling, particularly when
Nadal got broken while serving for the second set at 5-4.
But Nadal reeled off six games to regain control, chasing down ball after
ball to the corners. That's one of the traits that make him so tough on the
surface, somehow putting his racket on opponents' apparent winners.
"It doesn't matter how many times you think you've put the ball away," Blake
said, "it seems like he gets it back one more time."
