In the moment after his 7-5, 7-5 victory over Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series-Monte Carlo yesterday, Rafael Nadal lay on the ochre clay of the Monte Carlo Country Club and soaked in his triumph.
Not only was it his fourth Monte Carlo victory in a row, tying him with Anthony Wilding (1911-14), the motorcycle-riding New Zealander who was killed in the trenches in the First World War, it was his first title since Stuttgart last July. It was also, no surprise, his first tournament on clay since that win.
On the surface where he has earned 19 of his 25 titles, Nadal is dominant.
If he wins his first match in Barcelona on Wednesday, he will have won an astounding 99 of his past 100 matches on clay, the bulk of those during an 81-match streak from 2005 to 2007.
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Just four weeks from beginning his quest for a fourth French Open title in a row, he is approaching Borgian stature, a reference to the legendary Bjorn Borg of Sweden, who has six French Open titles, including four from 1978-81.
Borg, now 51, had a 46-match streak (1977-79) on clay, well short of Nadal's record 81. But in 1980, Borg won Roland Garros without losing a set - 21 in a row with none going higher than 6-4 and four ending in zeros. He ran that streak to 41 the following year before losing the second set of the final to Ivan Lendl.
Nadal, in three French Opens, has never won more than a measly 22 consecutive sets.
Their career clay-court records are 245-39 for Borg and 138-13 for Nadal.
They share an exceptional athleticism - both had/have remarkable endurance and speed - as well as an intrinsic self-assurance on the surface.
Yesterday, Federer, now 1-7 on clay against Nadal, was twice a break of serve ahead in the first set, only to be broken back immediately. He then led 4-0 in the second set before gradually falling apart in a flood of unforced errors as he appeared to lose belief there was any way he could beat Nadal on clay.
Seldom has there been a tangent of terror - the left-handed Nadal's wickedly top-spun, explosive forehand hit cross-court into Federer's weaker backhand side - on a surface that is so telling in a matchup of the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players.
Federer had only occasional flashes of answers yesterday but can take heart from a positive two weeks, winning in Estoril, Portugal, before reaching the Monte Carlo final, particularly when he was at a low ebb after four 2008 events without reaching a final.
"I'm still pretty happy," the world No. 1 said on court yesterday. "I was two points from losing [to qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo] in the first round. I've got a good momentum going on the clay."
After a fallow first three months, his recent success re-establishes him as the No. 2 on clay and restores his aura, with all players not named Nadal, going into Masters Series events in Rome and Hamburg starting next week.
Looking ahead, it appears the only way he could beat Nadal in Paris, after losses there to the Spaniard the past three years, would be to totally go for it and play in-the-zone tennis.
Describing the feat of winning four Monte Carlo titles in a row, the modest Nadal used a word in Spanish that also works in French and English as well: "inimaginable."
Also somewhat unimaginable was that he proceeded to go back out and win the doubles title with compatriot (and 2008 Olympics partner) Tommy Robredo. They defeated fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 6-3, 6-3, which will make Knowles's former partner, Daniel Nestor, feel a little better. The Torontonian and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, seeded third, were upset by Nadal-Robredo 5-7, 6-3, (10-3) in their opening round.
With 15 singles matches in 19 days required to win in Barcelona, Rome and Hamburg over the next three weeks (before a welcome seven-day break before the French Open), it will be intriguing to see if the impregnable Nadal can avoid any slipups on his beloved red clay.
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