The future will have to wait: Nadal shreds 20-year-old Korda in Paris

The tennis sage, left-handed Dane Torben Ulrich, was once asked what advise he’d give aspiring players.

“Watch the ball, bend your knees, and remember there are people suffering,” Ulrich said.

Ulrich’s fellow lefty, Rafael Nadal, continued his mastery of all three of those principles today at Roland Garros. All tournament long, Nadal has shared his sensitivity to the global situation, an awareness accompanied by his frequent expressions of gratitude for the chance to earn a living playing a game. This afternoon, on Court Philippe Chatrier, the venue where Nadal has most excelled, he displayed that appreciation with an exemplary 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 shredding of one of this year’s many Roland Garros Cinderellas, American qualifier Sebastian Korda.

In a match that lasted five minutes short of two hours, Nadal fought, committed only 20 unforced errors to Korda’s 48, fought off five of six break points and converted eight of eleven. The latter was particularly impressive, perhaps due to the ways Nadal has altered his return position—standing further back to give himself more time to generate the best possible swing and then relying on his superb foot speed to bring him up close to the baseline.

“But I am quite happy about the way that I am playing and the practices I am feeling every time a little bit better and better,” said Nadal.

This was Korda’s chance to come face-to-face with his lifelong tennis idol. Never mind the accomplished lefthander who’d raised him, Korda’s father— ’98 Australian Open champion and ’92 Roland Garros runner-up, Petr Korda. Nadal was Sebastian’s man, valued for his unsurpassed tenacity.

“Ever since I was a kid, I mean I was in love with him and everything about him,” said Korda. “I would watch every single match. Doesn't matter who he was playing or what tournament he was playing, he was the guy for me.”

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Expectations regarding Korda versus Nadal focused less on outcome than process. To win the last point? Doubtful. To compete effectively? Plausible. When Korda earned break points in the opening game, courtesy of a snappy backhand crosscourt and a crisp forehand, intrigue surfaced. At this stage, Korda hardly seemed intimidated by the situation—his movement sound, his technique relaxed and fluid. But Korda missed backhand returns on each of those ads. Fail to take your inch, give Nadal a mile. Usher in the Nadal army.

The conditions did not aid Korda’s quest. If you’re playing a better player, particularly for the first time, it helps if the day is warm, the air thin and stable enough to provide all the space and freedom needed to calm the nerves and swing freely. Today was harsh—55 degrees, with winds 15 mph. For a young, aggressive and versatile player like Korda, yet another shackle versus tennis’ supreme prison guard.

“It was super tricky,” said Korda. “It was like a tornado sometimes with the wind in there. It wasn't easy at all. It was moving around.”

Nadal’s attitude, topspin and footwork add up to a perfect trifecta for this environment. He also knew it was important to not give his young opponent any breathing room at the start of the match.

“For me it was important at the beginning too because when you play against a player with big talent, young players, when they start well and they are in front of the score, you encourage them,” said Nadal. “So for me it was important the beginning and I fighted for that couple of games in the beginning, no?”

Beginning? Please. As per usual with Nadal, this was a start to finish onslaught. Like a dentist spotting a potential cavity, Nadal scraped away at Korda’s contact point. Whether hindered by the wind or his own nerves, soon enough in the first set, Korda began to make the kind of errors that had largely been absent in his earlier matches—misfired forehands, netted backhands, late approach shots. A double-fault at 0-3, 15-40 sealed Korda’s fate in the first set. Serving to start the second, Korda rapidly went down 15-40, struck a forehand wide and continued to be at the mercy of the Nadal barrage. Yet another Rafa Roland Garros root canal was underway.

Korda’s play picked up nicely early in the third. He broke Nadal straight away and held to go up 2-0.

“But he’s able to take the ball early, he take the right position on court,” said Nadal. “From inside the court he’s able to dominate the point, no?”

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Not enough today, though. Nadal held, then broke Korda for 2-all and from there just kept right on squeezing as only he can. It became hard to see how Korda was going to win points, Nadal patrolling every corner of the court and, when possible, smacking forehand winners.

Even Korda at times enjoyed being more witness than participant.

“He almost hit an around-the-net forehand and I was kind of begging for it to go in because that would have been the coolest thing ever,” the American said. “And then he hit a running forehand winner on me at the lines. I just said to myself, This is awesome.”

Credit Korda for savoring the experience.

“It was definitely the best moment of my life,” he said of the match. “Yeah, it was super awesome.”

Still as much fan as player, Korda afterwards asked Nadal to sign a shirt for him.

How best to explain Nadal’s genius compared to his fellow members of tennis’ Big Three? Novak Djokovic smothers. Roger Federer dissects. Nadal oppresses. Attuned as Nadal is to the suffering of others, the competitor in him knows the that highest respect you can pay to your opponent is to make him suffer too, at least so long as you are competing. And then, once the battle is over, look him in the eye with appreciation.

“But he has a lot of difficult things and he's doing it very natural,” said Nadal. “So I really predict that he going to have a very good future.” The future will wait. As has been the case at Roland Garros now for 15 years, Nadal remains the present.