Mind Games
Every year when the clay court season rolls around there is debate anew regarding the chances of "attacking hard-court" players winning the French Open. Many pundits point to Rafael Nadal's record on clay courts the past few years as evidence of the dominance by a “clay court expert”, i.e. Nadal, from a powerhouse clay court country, i.e. Spain. Rafael Nadal did grow up on slow European clay courts unlike Andy
Roddick or James Blake. However, I’d argue that Nadal has won so many matches on clay because of his qualities as a champion as much as for his superior clay court skills. Nadal has also won major hard court titles, beaten Federer on hard courts and reached the finals of Wimbledon. When you see James Blake lose to the hard-serving, Ivo Karlovic, in a tight first round match, you have to wonder if the loss was as much about the thoughts in Blake's mind as the dirt under his feet and the excellent play of Karlovic. As they say, it is "mind over matter." Blake, Roddick and other Americans have to look at Yannick Noah's French Open victory, Stefan Edberg's final round appearance and Tim Henman's semifinal finish to realize they can (and shall) overcome...
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