No. 2, 2004: Nadal heeds Moya's words, tops Roddick in raucous Davis Cup final

As 36-year-old Rafael Nadal ramps up for what may be his final swing through the clay courts of Europe, we look back at the 10 matches that made him the undisputed King of Clay.

• MATCH 1: 2003 Monte Carlo, second round: Nadal d. Costa, 7-5, 6-3

MATCH 2: 2004 Davis Cup, final: Nadal d. Andy Roddick, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-2

I think you either have it or you don’t, regardless of age.

From the distance of 19 years, a Nadal victory over Roddick on red clay, in Spain, might not seem like a result to memorialize. It might seem, instead, like a given. But that’s not how it felt at the time—or at least until this raucous four-setter was over.

Nadal at 18 had shown his skill on clay, by winning a title in Sopot, Poland. He had shown his ability to beat top opponents, including Roger Federer. He had shown a knack for rising to the occasion in Davis Cup, having twice won the clinching tie for Spain that year. But he hadn’t been on a stage quite like this one—no one in tennis had. More than 27,000 people were inside the Olympic Stadium in Seville for the final, an all-time record for a sanctioned event. That’s two-thirds of the population of Manacor, Nadal’s hometown.

Perhaps more important, Rafa had never beaten Roddick. In their only previous meeting, three months earlier at the US Open, the American had rolled over the Spaniard in straight sets, the first one at love, in a night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Not that anyone was all that surprised. Roddick was the defending champion and the runner-up at Wimbledon two months earlier, while Nadal was still recovering from a foot injury.

By December, though, Nadal had recovered well enough, and hitting the ball fiercely enough in practice, that Spanish captain Jordi Arrese decided to sit Juan Carlos Ferrero, the previous year’s French Open champion, in favor of the teenager. The move was controversial. Even Rafa, who had expected to serve mostly as a cheerleader that weekend, wasn’t sure he liked it. Unsure about being elevated above an older and more accomplished teammate, he asked his friend Moya, “Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if Juan Carlos were to play?”

Moya was having none of it. He cut Nadal short with a memorable retort.

“I remember his words exactly,” Nadal would say later of Moya’s response.

“Don’t be a dumbass. Go ahead and play.”

Nadal took Moya’s blunt advice—what else could he do?—and walked on court “as motivated as I had ever been, fully aware that this was the biggest match of my young life.”

Still, the Ferrero decision didn’t look any less controversial when Nadal lost the first set to Roddick in a tiebreaker. But gradually, by dint of pure maniacal effort, Rafa began to work the rallies and the score in his favor. His serve wasn’t a weapon yet, but his forehand, his drop shot, his passing shots, and most of all his bounding, boundless energy certainly were. He gave new meaning to the term “all over the court,” and had 60 winners by the end of the third set.

“I played in a rush of pure instinct, almost without pausing to think,” Nadal said. “Never has a crowd been more behind me, before or since.”

The only thing left to prove was whether he could close. Roddick pushed him hard, and had a set point at 6-5 in the third-set tiebreaker, which would have put him up two sets to one. But Rafa saved it with a brave drop shot, and rode the crowd energy—most of which he had stirred up himself—to victory.

“I just ran into someone who played too well,” said Roddick. “Every once in a while people come along and they’re big-match players.

“I think you either have it or you don’t, regardless of age.”

As for Rafa, he credited the fans with lifting him up after the first set, and saw the win as a reward for the work he had put in after his injury.

“I’ve had a tough year,” he said, “and I think I really do deserve this victory.”

At this stage in the Rafa evolution, the sleeveless shirt had made its appearance, but he had yet to develop all of his pre-serve twitches and tics. He pretty much walked up to the line, bounced the ball and served.

What felt new from Nadal then was (1) his expressiveness, and (2) his ability to make gets that few humans had even tried to make before. In the ESPN booth that day, Mal Washington comments on how much emotion Rafa is already showing at 3-1 in the first set; it’s the equivalent of what, in those days, most guys showed when they won a set or a match, or a Slam.

Soon after, Washington’s commentary partner, Cliff Drysdale, sounds blown way when Rafa runs from behind the baseline all the way to the net to track down a Roddick drop volley. “Whoa, he got to that one!” Drysdale cries in disbelief.

That emotion and energy felt new when Rafa showed it at 18, and it feels just as new today when we see it from his countryman Carlos Alcaraz. Whatever the era, youth never ceases to surprise and amaze. If any match can be said to be a launching pad for a career, it’s this one.

Tomorrow: Nadal puts on his big-boy piratas