by: Steve Tignor, TENNIS.com

Remember that brief but heady time last summer when sports fans were saying "Federer-Nadal?" Rafael Nadal (French Open) and Roger Federer (Wimbledon) had split back-to-back finals -- the only time that has happened in the Open era -- and seemed destined to become a twosome for the ages, like Borg and McEnroe or Pete and Andre. Tennis was back!

 

Six months later, no one is saying Federer-Nadal anymore. By winning his 10th (and third straight) Grand Slam, the Swiss god has left tennis beneath him. The comparisons are now with historic figures from other sports. These days, it's "Federer-Tiger," as in Woods. So where does that leave the Nadal half of our rivalry?

 

Since his run to the Wimbledon final, Nadal hasn't won a tournament and he went down in the quarterfinals of the last two Slams, the U.S. and Australian Opens. His body-punching baseline game has looked pedestrian compared to Federer's soaring mastery of all shots and situations. But rather than feeling betrayed -- we thought the kid was Borg, and now he's going to be Sergi Bruguera? -- let's offer some perspective. Nadal's trips to the quarters at Flushing and Melbourne were his best results at either event. Put that together with Wimbledon, and he's spent the last three majors improving on surfaces other than his beloved red clay. Nadal wants nothing more than to shed the "clay-court specialist" label; his dream was to win Wimbledon, not the French Open. While his rise on clay was meteoric, his evolution into an all-surface champion will be a slog. At 20, though, he's got time.

 

Frankly, I've always been amazed by Nadal's success. He muscles his backhand and return of serve and hacks at them when he goes for a slice. Even his lethal forehand often lands too short. There may be 20 guys who are cleaner ball-strikers. So how can he ever get his name back up there next to Federer's? The theory coming out of Australia is that he needs a new coach to replace his uncle Toni. Anyone who can help Rafa smooth out that backhand would be welcome -- Jimmy Connors has had some success doing that with Andy Roddick. To continue improving on faster surfaces, Nadal will have to adopt a less reactive mentality and not be so predictable with his service placement. I've underestimated him in the past, and I have no doubt he'll do whatever it takes to get better.

 

But listening to outside advice may not be one of them. Nadal shunned the big Spanish academies as a junior to train with his family on the island of Mallorca, and he still lives with them there. The biggest reason for his success has been his mental approach; as I said, his strokes are flawed. Nadal wins by playing inspired tennis more than anything else, and his family is a big part of that inspiration. It may be time for Nadal to go see a ground-stroke guru -- is there a Spanish Robert Lansdorp? -- but Uncle Toni needs to remain in the center of the picture.

 

Maybe now is a good time to appreciate how much Nadal's done with the gifts he has. Compare him to his contemporary, Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Really, there is no comparison -- every shot of Gasquet's is more fluid. But it's Nadal who has won the Slams and faced down Federer. Just because he's can't share top billing with that particular god all the time doesn't mean we should be disappointed in him.

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