Nadal Locks On to Title

Rafael Nadal is the French Open champion, no?

Well, yes.

No became yes -- or si, that is -- on a cloudy afternoon at Roland Garros. The question became an emphatic answer when the fourth-seeded Nadal of Spain fulfilled his destiny and vast expectations, defeating unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5, in the French Open final Sunday.

Nadal celebrated, again, as he did after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in the semifinals, by wearing clay on his back, dropping to the dirt when Puerta finally succumbed after 3 hours 24 minutes by pushing a forehand wide. He won the title in his first attempt, matching the feat of Mats Wilander, who also needed four sets in defeating Guillermo Vilas in the 1982 final.

“Is one of the best moments in my career, no?” Nadal said, continuing his habit of putting the word “no” at the end of most sentences.

The significance of his accomplishment was underlined when the first spectator to personally congratulate the 19-year-old from Mallorca was King Juan Carlos of Spain. Real Madrid soccer star and Frenchman Zinedine Zidane was on hand to present the trophy to Nadal and the youngster held it tightly, looking as if he had no intention of letting it go.

That day may not come for some time. A summation of his abilities and nod to Nadal’s future came from the person best equipped to do so, the other left-hander on the court, Puerta.

Puerta sounded as though this would be the first of many Grand Slam titles for Nadal, who will be No. 3 in the world when the men’s rankings are released today.

“I think we are talking about someone who is going to write a page in the history of tennis,” Puerta said. “He already wrote that page in the history of tennis. Personally, I think he’s going to do beautiful things in tennis, like [Michael] Chang did in his own time, or [Andre] Agassi.

“He’s going to become a legend of tennis. I think he has the mental strength to beat records.”

The opening page in the first chapter was compelling.

It had dramatic shot-making, the threat of rain and Nadal’s animated sense of self. Just as important, he had a great foil across the net.

Puerta, 26, who had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam event, was an unexpected opponent but a worthy one. An early injury timeout to have his upper right leg taped seemed to release Puerta’s nerves, after he had trailed, 1-3. And he took advantage of Nadal’s late first-set tentativeness, grabbing the tiebreaker with some poised shot-making.

Teenage tension on such an important occasion was only natural, said Nadal’s uncle and coach. “If you are not nervous before a Roland Garros final, you must be on [something],” Toni Nadal said in Spanish.

Nadal responded strongly after the 72-minute opening set. But just when it seemed as though Nadal would breeze through the rest of the final, winning the second and third sets, Puerta’s door of opportunity opened again in the fourth set when he broke Nadal’s serve in the first game.

Nadal shut the door by getting the break back right away but got into more trouble in the ninth game, losing his serve at 30. Puerta served for the set at 5-4 and had three chances to push the final into a fifth set. Nadal saved all three set points. On the second, Puerta went diving for a volley in desperation, tumbling to the clay.

Perhaps one of the most electric moments came on Nadal’s break point in that same game. Nadal retrieved a drop shot, the players exchanged volleys in close with Nadal’s coming back by virtue of a quick reflex and Puerta pushed a forehand volley wide.

Nadal described the point in broken English in his crowded post-match news conference, and having completed the long, excited account, made the double peace sign with his arms raised.

Two games later, a service hold, and another break, Nadal had his first Grand Slam title. There would be no fifth set.

“I felt that if I had won the fourth set, we would have been both at 50-50,” Puerta said. “In the fifth set, it could have been either of us. When I went onto the court, he was the favorite, it was clear to me. But at the end of the fourth, I didn’t see that anymore.”

On this day of so many firsts, there was one more for Nadal when he climbed into the stands to greet his parents and other family members, including Toni Nadal and former Spanish international soccer star Miguel Angel Nadal, also an uncle.

“For the first time, I cried after winning a match,” Nadal said. “It never happened before. ... I didn’t think I was going to cry, but my whole family was very emotional.”

Nadal may have been emotional, but he kept his hold on reality despite all the kudos and verbal bouquets coming his way. There was the matter of the French Open-Wimbledon double.

“I can’t challenge for the title,” he said in Spanish of Wimbledon.

His additional response in English was even better and could have been a statement to sum up his whole day and his 24-match winning streak on clay: “The truth is the truth.”

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French Open officials, in the news conference before the final, spoke of extending the tournament by a day next year, to a 15th day, saying that negotiations were continuing with the men’s and women’s tours.

Instead of the usual Monday start, they hope to start on Sunday next year and indicated the other Grand Slam events, with the exception of Wimbledon, are interested in doing the same thing.

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Box score

Rafael Nadal def. Mariano Puerta, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5, in the French Open men’s final:

*--* Nadal Puerta 1st-serve percentage 79 61 Aces 7 4 Double faults 3 2 Unforced errors 28 54 1st-serve winning pct. 68 64 2nd-serve winning pct. 38 41 Winners (including service) 54 45 Break-point conversions 8-18 3-14 Net approaches won 11-17 34-55 Total points won 146 128 Time of match 3:24

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