Rafael Nadal against Roger Federer in the semi-finals of Wimbledon 2019 – that is a match to savour. Best start getting ready now: cancel all appointments, turn off the phone, order in the pizza and beverages of choice. You will not want to take your eyes off this one.
That, though, is on Friday. In order to set up this super-semi, the 40th meeting of the two old rivals, Nadal had to win his 39th Grand Slam quarter-final, this one against Sam Querrey. Potentially, the tall man from Las Vegas was a serious threat to Nadal’s hopes in SW19.
Yet, as he has done so many times before, once the world No.2 had taken the first set, he looked like a man in a tearing hurry as he sped towards his 32nd Grand Slam semi-final, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Querrey had given it his all in the opening set but when that was not good enough, there was not a lot left to give.
We are so used to seeing this now that it feels as if Nadal is almost part of the family. He has become our Rafa.
We all know his little rituals and quirks – the thing with the bottles, the two towels at the back of the court, the thing with the shorts, the thing with the shirt, the touching of his left ear, then his nose, then his right ear before he serves… we know it by heart.
Even the way that he wears one of the most expensive wrist watches in the world and yet is always a few minutes late for everything – we all know that this collection of idiosyncrasies wins matches and matches, in turn, win titles. It’s all good.
But what of Querrey? He is, according to his fellow big-serving American, John Isner, an absolute hoot. “You’ve got to get to know him,” Big John said of Big Sam. “He’s very, very goofy. He’s like the real-life Larry David of the tennis tour. He’s a classic.”
Sam is a real laugh, then. Or he is if you are not standing at the other end of the court when he is walloping that serve of his at you. As the match began, he was leading the ace count at The Championships with a nice, round 100.
Then there is his reputation as a giant-killer around these parts. He was the last man to beat Andy Murray in singles here in 2017, and the year before he stopped Novak Djokovic in his tracks in the third round. Big Sam is not to be taken lightly.
With that in mind, Nadal began with every nerve ending twitching and his pulse racing: he was ready.
Querrey started with a brace of aces (the first of his 22 for the match); Nadal responded with a perfect service game of his own. And then, after just six minutes, Nadal was leaping in the air in celebration; he had broken the big man’s serve with a forehand that fizzed low across the court, one that left the 6ft 6in American flapping his racket at thin air.
Querrey tried, oh, how he tried. He did everything he could think of to put pressure on the former champion – the main tactic being not to get into a baseline contest with the best clay court player in history and, whatever you do, don’t go near his forehand. But it was hard going. Eventually, after 26 minutes of sweat and toil, he got his reward in the shape of a break point yet Nadal would not let him convert it.
Nadal’s serve may not be as big or as venomous as Querrey’s but it is awfully efficient and ludicrously difficult to break. Everyone knows about his forehand but his backhand is a weapon of power and precision, too. And then there is the volley: it is not at the top of the list of attributes to be admired in the Spaniard’s game but it can be devastating. He won all but one of the 14 net points he played, which is not bad for a baseliner. Then again, Nadal is no ordinary baseliner.
By this stage, the Querrey game plan was beginning to look a little ragged. Yes, it was a great idea to serve out wide, drag Nadal out of the court and then come in for the volley. But that relied on the big man getting his first serve in – and that was not happening. Now Querrey’s planned route to the semi-final involved running uphill in lead boots. But still he kept trying.
As he served for the first set, Nadal was broken. By way of a reply, Nadal broke straight back and again celebrated as if he had found a winning lottery ticket. Down on his haunches, roaring at his box, he knew this was a key moment. And when, at the second attempt, he claimed the first set, he was on his way to meet Federer. There was no stopping him now.
