Charismatic Nadal superstar in the making

19-year-old French Open champ has the looks, and the intensity

Rafael Nadal of Spain has taken men's tennis by storm with his fearless, combative and charasmatic play at the French Open, 
says Bud Collins of NBCSports.com.  

COMMENTARY
By Bud Collins
NBC Sports
Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET June 5, 

2005 PARIS - Spanish teen sensation Rafael Nadal is full of bravado, has loads of talent, and looks the part of a 
international superstar in the making. He's the biggest thing to hit men's tennis in quite a while.


Birthday to remember

Nadal has the brawny biceps and dark locks that the girls love, and the heart and desire that men the world over admire.

Before beating Mariano Puerta 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 for his first Grand Slam title Sunday, Nadal beat world No. 1 Roger 
Federer, facing down the great Swiss master, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals.

The kid gave all of Paris thrills, chills and never blanched even when he took a major spill on the red clay. He cherishes 
the battles, the challenges and the big occasions. 

The Spaniard, who turned 19 on Friday, gave himself the best birthday present possible: a major-league win over a man who 
wanted to prove that at age 23 he’s already one of the best players in history.

Had he won the contest, Federer would have been just one match away from joining a select group of six who have won all 
four majors, but he couldn’t get the kid to fold.

For Nadal this is about as grand a Roland Garros debut as anyone could imagine. 


Nadal knows no fear

Federer said he knew how to beat Nadal, but his forehand and serve largely deserted him. Federer has a tremendous amount 
of weapons at his disposal, but Nadal is one of the fastest players I've ever seen on clay and it’s nearly impossible to 
hit through him.

Federer couldn’t contend with Nadal's lefty forehand, the ferocity of his passing shots, and his competitive zeal. Nadal 
didn’t back down from Federer’s feared first serve and almost dared him to keep coming to the net. The bull gored the 
matador time and time again.

We haven’t seen Federer outplayed on the big points as consistently as Nadal jumped on him in more than a year. 

The kid from Mallorca is just unshakeable. Nadal wowed the crowd with his lack of nerves and brave play when the going got 
tight.

He won the third set with three seeing-eye forehand winners and a terrific forehand volley. He went down an early break in 
the fourth set, but kept coming strong while the Swiss master became unglued.

When it was show time at 5-3 in the fourth set, he let out a loud "Vamos," ripped two forehand winners down the line, 
crushed an overhead and then rolled delightfully in the clay after Federer missed a forehand. He then got off the ground, 
leapt into the air and punched his left fist toward the sky.