THINGS have been easy for Rafael Nadal at this year’s French Open but if he is indeed to be crowned champion here for a record 10th time today, he will need to produce his very best to deny Stan Wawrinka.
Having dropped just 29 games en route to his first final here for three years, Nadal is the big favourite to extend his ludicrous run of victories on the court where he first triumphed 12 years ago.
He has been beaten at Roland Garros only twice, in 2009 by Robin Soderling and in 2015 by Novak Djokovic, while he was forced to retire before his third round match last year because of injury.
Not since Bjorn Borg lost just 27 games in 1978 has anyone reached the final with so few games conceded and Nadal looks back to his best, high on confidence after a near-perfect clay-court season.
But on the other side of the net is a man who has won all three of his Grand Slam finals, one in each of the past three years and a man who won here just two years ago.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” Nadal said. “Stan won the last event in Geneva and now he's in the final here. So he's on a good run. It's the toughest opponent possible here.”
Wawrinka has shown his mental strength matches his physique with wins over Nadal in the Australian Open in 2014 and Djokovic in Paris in 2015 and at the US Open last summer.
His five-set win over Andy Murray in the semi-finals was an example of how when he is on song, he has the power to hit through even the greatest of defenders and he knows now that when the pressure is at its greatest, he can stand tall.
Something has to give, then, when the two men meet on what promises to be a hot afternoon, with temperatures forecast to be around 30 degrees Celsius.
If tennis is compared to chess a little too frequently, the comparison is perhaps apt here because for Nadal, the task is simple, stop Wawrinka from doing what he likes to do, attacking.
“I do not want him to play his game, which means I need to make sure I don't let him be in that position where he can hit hard,” Nadal said.
“I will have to do everything I can to keep him from playing aggressively. If I can play long balls, if I can hit hard, if I can do that, well, I think I will be hopefully able to control him.
“I have everything I need to play aggressively. If I'm nervous, it will be more difficult. If I can stay focused and if I'm on a good day, I think I can really challenge him and force him to take risks.”
It was his victory over Nadal, who was struggling with a back injury, in the final of the Australian Open in 2014 that gave the 32-year-old his first Grand Slam title.
He was always talented, but since then he has been a man transformed, always playing his best at the latter end of Grand Slams, and winning two more titles, in Paris two years ago and then in New York last September.
The Swiss admits he will need to change his game slightly against Nadal, judge how well he is hitting his backhand and take on his forehand to create the space to attack. Most importantly, he believes.
“Mentally, when I arrive on a big tournament or in a big match, it's like closing, switching off everything in my body except my brain, which I put in winning mode,” he said. “Of course, I can lose, but I think I'm extremely confident about what I do, about how I feel, about all the hard work I have accomplished over the past days, weeks, months, years. I know that mentally when I'm there, it's difficult to beat me.”
Nadal’s status is already immortalised in his nine titles here. One more wouldn’t go amiss, though.
“It is true that 10 is a beautiful number, but actually my favourite is 9,” he said, with a smile. “But for sure (if) it (happens), 10 will be my favourite (smiling).”
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