Nadal Mania

During the Australian Open, I was raving about Roger Federer. Well, it looks like he might have rival. Rafael Nadal played some of the best tennis I've seen in a while. Most of today's top players win because of a powerful serve combined with an ability to hit winners from anywhere on the court. What makes Nadal so special is how he can wear out players with his court coverage, and he just doesn't get the ball back; he's hitting winners off of shots that most players can't even get to. Some other thoughts:

• Just learned this from Bud Collins: Nadal is a natural righty but plays tennis left-handed.
• MTV Cribs needs to visit Bud Collins's home just so we can see his closet and selection of pants.
• For tennis fans, The French Open is the best tournament to watch. Since the clay surface slows the ball down, we don't see boring serving competitions. Instead we see long rallies where strategy counts. To win the French, you need to know how to run and slide on clay, hit with a variety of spins, and throw in some drop shots and lobs. I'd take a match with twenty shot rallies any day over Roddick and another guy trading aces at the US Open.
• It's also good to see players diving and getting dirty on the red clay. This also happens at Wimbledon on the grass, but rarely on the hard surface. I think Boris Becker was the only one crazy enough to dive onto cement.
• The world's two most talented and charismic tennis players, Nadal and Federer, are "foreigners." Will Americans appreciate their talent and embrace them like they did for Becker and Edberg or will these players be ignored as McEnroe and ESPN goes on and on about Agassi and Roddick?