Rivalries of Past and Present: Tennis Needs Nadal-Federer

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Rafael Nadal's problems have not just been in his knees, but in his head, too. And that has made it doubly difficult to figure out where he stands and when he'll be right again or for how long. Or if ever.

He keeps coming back, even this week at Indian Wells, saying work is the only path, when it would seem that a wear-and-tear injury such as tendinitis would require rest, and certainly not the beating of hard courts. That's just more confusion.

"My schedule is the same like every year,'' he said. "I don't think I have to change when the results (were) always really good doing the same.''

Results were good? How much time has he missed with injury the past 10 months?

Whatever, Saturday gave us the next chapter in Nadal's career. He returned for the first time since the Australian Open in January, when his knees forced him to quit during a match with Andy Murray.

Nadal looked great in beating Rainier Schuettler 6-4, 6-4. He ran hard, swung out on his backhand, looked strong again. Even his slice backhand was less desperation than plan.

Just like that, Nadal was Nadal again, looking more confident than I've seen him in a long time.

"I'm happy to be here, happy how I am today,'' he said. "I am ready to try everything.''

Try everything? The knees are that comfortable? No worries?

"Always worries,'' he said.

Ugh. Tennis has pushed a giant pause button while Roger Federer tries to keep Nadal's seat warm in what was going to be an amazing and historic rivalry. It keeps waiting, waiting for Rafa.

Tennis needs this rivalry, which set all the sport's arrows pointing the right way with one amazing Wimbledon final.

That is starting to seem like a long time ago.

Meanwhile, the embarrassing, petty bickering between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi Friday night on-court during the Hit for Haiti charity exhibition only served to show how much we should appreciate Nadal and Federer.



"I definitely think there's plenty of other guys who have the game to either get to No. 1 or win multiple Grand Slams,'' Federer said. "But because there are so many at the moment, you don't see anybody dominating from that group yet.

"I still think Rafa and myself, we have the edge.''

Federer has not played Nadal since May in Madrid, when Nadal was already hurt. They have met just twice since the start of 2009, and guess when they last played in the U.S.

It was 2005. I like their chances of meeting again next Sunday in the final here.

But after the Australian, it became clear that there would never be a comfortable moment with Nadal again. He was finally playing well again, getting his head straight, and then, snap, there went the knee.

There might a little language barrier in talks about his knees. But Nadal also has been reluctant to talk about it at all, becoming intentionally unclear.

This past knee injury, he said, was not related to last year's knee injury. Do you believe that?

Maybe he's talking a big game, but trying to read him, it seems that he truly believes his knees are OK now.

He said he feels he can win any tournament he enters.

"I'm in the right way,'' he said. "I started the season playing really well, so I was very happy. Later, I have the problem with the knee.

"But for me, seriously, the last four months of last year were tough because I didn't see the way how to play well ... Now, no. I started playing the season really well and feeling on the top level another time in my game.''

The problems in his head are gone now.

Nobody talks about what happened to Nadal's head. But I think it had something to do with the pressures of being No. 1, the difficulties of keeping a foot on the gas even after he had passed the unpassable Federer.

It looks as if he's ready for that fight again.

"My feeling is the level is there, much better than what I did the last six, seven, eight months,'' he said. "Important thing is to be healthy. If I am healthy, just can play the tournaments that I have on the schedule, I have good chances.''

If Nadal is healthy. That's tennis' big If.

The game is surviving without him at his best, as Juan Martin del Potro won the U.S. Open, Murray reached the final in Australia and Novak Djokovic moved past Nadal to No. 2 in the rankings.

These other players make for a great new generation, but the game needs a rivalry. It needs The Rivalry.

If you missed it, Sampras and Agassi picked a charity event for Haiti to argue over hard feelings Sampras has from things Agassi said in his book. Agassi mocked Sampras in mean-spirit in front of the crowd, and Sampras got defensive.

Not the right time or place for that, boys.

Nadal said Saturday that he didn't understand what Sampras and Agassi were saying, that they spoke too fast for him. Let's just be nice and take him at his word.

But on court Friday, when the Tennis Channel's Justin Gimelstob mentioned to Federer, over the p.a., that the Fed-Rafa rivalry seems a little nicer than Sampras-Agassi, Federer joked, "That's in the beginning of the rivalry. Toward the end, it's going to get very fierce between me and Rafa.''

Is that possible? Are we still at the beginning?

We can only hope.

E-mail me at gregcouch09@aol.com