When Corretja settled accounts with Moyà and Orantes was rescued by Kirk Douglas's wife

Only two Spanish tennis players,

, in 1976, and

, in 1998, have raised the cup in the Masters Tournament, which this year celebrates its 50th edition.

shares with

the leadership in the list of players He has the most Grand Slam titles and has a dazzling service record, but has never won the now called ATP Finals, the season-ending tournament.

He was a finalist in 2010 and 2013. "Normally Nadal arrives with just forces t

after having won a Grand Slam title or two and with a lot of matches behind.

In addition, the tournament is played on a fast track and indoors, in the worst circumstances for him.

However, this year he appears fresher than ever, "says Corretja in a telephone conversation with this newspaper. Six months after playing the first of his two Roland Garros finals, the Eurosport commentator today met again with

as the last frontier to win a great title.

The Mallorcan had beaten him without giving up a set to win the cup on Parisian clay and was on his way to surpass him again in Hannover, where he had two sets ahead and was 3-1 up in the fifth. "It hurt me a lot. He had a very powerful serve and a definitive forehand, he covered a lot of court and held up well in all situations. However, on the indoor court I had the plus of the cut backhand and my serve was more effective. I also liked to close the plays at the net There I was able to develop my best game. "In Hannover, a fast surface, indoors, in a final that was a conclusive demonstration that Spanish men's tennis had transcended the space of clay, Corretja beat Moyà 3-6, 3 -6, 7-5, 6-3 and 7-5. "On clay, Nadal is so superior that although he is not at 100% he finds many ways to win games. On the other hand, on fast surface, the day he does not play well there are 25 or 30 players who can beat him ", points to ELM

UNDO

.

The racket change

Winner of the United States Open in 1975, after overcoming in the final to

Jimmy connors

, a year later Orantes played the Masters for the fifth time.

He was a regular on the date, but he had never even reached the semifinals.

"I hadn't done a good first part of the season and at the end of the summer I started playing with a new Slazenger model, made of aluminum. It was perfect for me, because I didn't have to use as much force as with the wooden racket and I had fewer problems with it. elbow. I won in Tehran, Madrid and Barcelona, ​​I finished in London and Stockholm, I also won in Tokyo and I qualified for the Masters ".

There are structural reasons that explain Nadal's difficulties, the nexus of the dialogue we have with the two Spanish champions, to close the year in a big way.

"On this type of surface his effects do not take even half the violence, his balls are shorter and offer more options to his rivals, who are not over the shoulder," says Corretja. The former world number two he had to step over two of the best tennis players ever before fighting the title with Moyà.

Pete sampras

Y

Andre Agassi

they learned in Hannover of Corretja's intelligence and tenacity.

Agassi was defeated in the group stage and Sampras in the semifinals.

"The New York experience helped me," says the Catalan, who two years before had had

match point

in the quarterfinals of the United States Open against which he would be five times champion of the tournament.

"In Hannover I was the one who saved three match points. Sometimes I wonder how it could be that in the end I won the Masters and not Roland Garros, on clay and the best of five sets, a tournament that was more suited to my conditions. It is true that at times I felt that I was the tennis player who worked the hardest and that if he was able to prolong the matches he was in very good physical condition to end up winning them. "Orantes also needed arrests to immediately shake off the defeat suffered in the group stage before

Wotjek Fibak

, his adversary in the final.

The Pole dominated again in the final match, but in the stands there was at least one person who still believed in his capacity for resurrection: his name was

Anne Buydens

.

"He was losing by two sets to one and 4-1 down in the quarter. Near my chair, in a change of ends, they interviewed Kirk Douglas, who commented that the match seemed about to turn out. Then his wife, Anne, intervened, "I saw him last year against Vilas, in the semifinals of the US Open, he lost by two sets to one and 5-0 in the fourth. He lifted five match points and turned the scoreboard." the court, I made a gesture of gratitude with my finger up and I returned to the court with renewed spirit. "The tournament in question pushed the two Spanish champions to the limit, forced to grow up in an uncomfortable territory and face very difficult situations. adversarial.

Nadal, who has an irreducible character among his hallmarks, has qualified for all editions since 2005, but missed six due to physical problems.

The pandemic has left tennis in the bones in the course that concludes.

The left-hander appeared with a total of 30 games, compared to 57 last year, 79 in 2017 and 77 in 2015, the last three editions he has played.

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