Day Two: Fifty-Four

History begins from fifty-four! Yep, folks, we’ve done it.

Rafael Nadal has broken the thirty year old record of most consecutive clay court wins today, by demolishing off a broken-spirited Robin Sterling, winning fifty four matches in a row.

The commentators defined Nadal today, as a “most annoying player”: He’ll run for every drop shot you throw at him (and he usually gets there and cross-courts a return to your very shock), he’ll pump himself up even when he’s three games down in a final set to the point where he’s transformed into an enthusiastic five-year old, he’s one of the most focused players on the tour today – not breaking his rhythm and always, always dictating the pace of the game (which is why he is able to unsettle Roger Federer so much, I think – he gives Roger too much time to think – and we all know what happens to Roger when he thinks too much), and most of all, he never, God Forbid, gives up, our Rafa. Most annoying, how he has a strong defensive game that means the points he loses are usually more fun to watch then the ones he wins, since he’s throwing himself all over that floor. Most, most annoying how he angles his shots at the most impossible corners of the court, and just when you’re smugly patting yourself on the back for a lovely winner. Heavily annoying, how friggin good the kid is.

And he still has room for improvement in his clay game!

Back to the record – no one thought it possible to break Vilas’ record, no one thought that in the current stench of competition with all your Gaudios, Corias, Ferreros or Moyas could there come any player who would not only be three paces ahead of the current competition, but actually lead to the downfall of all the mentioned, just because he didn’t let you win. That’s just what he did, Coria is a non-existential factor who might regain momentum if only his serve hadn’t completely left him this season, Ferrero, no matter how much I adore him, has lost all firepower and magic, while Moya with the occasional upset, is past his prime. Gaudio needs to fix more then just that obnoxious bun on his head to get back into gear – but your know what – it still doesn’t matter. The next couple of years sees Nadal dominating the clay game well ahead of his colleagues. Hey, you might even see him actually challenging Federer for number one then, too (right now he has too many thing to work on to be any sort of a disturbance to numero uno).

So it was fifty four today. How long will Nadal’s record go up till? Will his record be broken? Is it really only his second year on tour? Has he really tied history with the likes of Borg, Vilas etc.? Is the kid REALLY nineteen?