2005 Italian Open News
By Eleanor
Preston | May 08, 2005
 Rafael Nadal’s unstoppable march through the clay
court season continued on Sunday when he added the Rome
Masters to his bulging racket bag full of trophies, despite
being made to work almost impossibly hard by Guillermo
Coria in the final. The pair played perhaps the most compelling
final of the year so far, battling for a record five hours
and 14 minutes before Nadal eventually wrapped up a 6-4,
3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 victory.
It was the 18-year-old’s third trophy in a row and
his second consecutive Masters Series victory following
his victory over Monte Carlo final last month. The bragging
rights he now has over Coria heading into the French Open,
which starts on 23 May, could be crucial if, as expected,
the two meet again there.
Coria’s frequently threatened to win snap the 17-match
winning streak Nadal had notched up since losing to Igor
Andreev in the Valencia quarter-finals on 8th April, largely
thanks to a mixture of his own extraordinary stubbornness
and Nadal’s mental and physical exhaustion from playing
17 matches in 27 days.
The Argentine could give lessons in obstinacy to everyone
except Nadal, whose competitive fire is such that even
when he looks down and out he is simply biding his time
for another comeback. At the beginning of the fifth set
Nadal looked heavy-legged and punch-drunk and Coria raced
to a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve, only to see Nadal
claw his way back into it.
It was the longest final in the history of the tournament
since Vitas Gerulaitis and Guillermo Vilas did battle for
four hours and 53 minutes in the1979 final. Nadal had his
first match-point, at 5-6 on Coria’s serve, at four
hours and 59 minutes and his second and third in the fifth
set tiebreaker at five hours and ten minutes. That both
were saved is a tribute to Coria’s resistance but
Nadal was also scuppered by his own nerves. He led the
breaker 5-1 and then 6-4 and crucial misses might have
cost him dearly, particularly the double fault he put in
at 6-5.
Nadal has proved in recent weeks that he is has a huge
heart and when his chance came again he made no mistake.
He drew Coria into the net and waited for the Argentine’s
uncertain net play to do the rest. When Coria’s final
backhand volley sailed long Nadal fell on his back in the
clay with huge, white-toothed smile and a huge sigh of
relief.
The pair battled for so long that by the time they had
reached the fifth set the hot Roman sun of the afternoon
had disappeared, replaced by a floodlit court and a chill
evening wind which had those watching huddled together
for warmth. The crowd in the bleachers kept themselves
warm by holding a Spain versus Argentina cheering competition
while those courtside involved themselves in every line
call and strain to examine the ball marks in a contest
that was always going to be decided by a millimeter here
and there.
The length of the match, the quality of the tennis it contained
and the excitable nature of the crowd watching it ensured
a contest full of drama and intrigue. It was a treat for
those who like their clay-court tennis dogged and attritional,
with the third and fifth sets taking more than an hour
each and so many miles run that had the clay not be raked
between sets there would surely have been a three-foot
deep trench at each baseline by its conclusion.
Coria was so weary in the fifth hour that he barely had
the energy to check ball marks, a frequent habit which
hardly endears him to opponents, even on clay, where convention
allows for the odd query but some players choose to stretch
things to the point of gamesmanship.
Coria is one of the most adept clay court players of his
generation but he is not likely to win any popularity contests
amongst his colleagues in the locker room. Andre Agassi,
who tends to keep his powder dry until he has been really
infuriated by an opponent, let rip at the Argentine for
what he called “unacceptable behavior” during
their quarter-final on Saturday.
Agassi was furious after Coria signaled a ball out with
his finger before it had landed, then nonchalantly walked
away from the mark as if the umpire’s decision on
whether it was in or out was a foregone conclusion. The
latter may be classic clay-courters kiddology, designed
to hoodwink umpires, but Agassi was unimpressed.
“I understand a mistake,” said Agassi. “But
I don’t understand suggesting that when it’s
that close, that it’s clearly out. It was an unreasonable
response and one I didn’t appreciate at all. To act
like it’s sure when it’s obviously close is
unacceptable behavior.”
After his performance in the final, no-one could doubt
Coria’s work ethic or his stickability but it wasn’t
quite enough against Nadal, a clay-court prodigy and a
man currently in sole command of the men’s game.
Roland Garros should be bracing itself for his arrival.
TennisLifeMagazine.com’s
team will be in Paris to bring you match reports, player
profiles and special features every day from Roland Garros.
Grand Slam Coverage starts 23 May.
NEXT WEEK on TennisLifeMagazine.com – Daily coverage
of the Rome Masters WTA Tour event.
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