5 best starts to a tennis season in the Open era
It is always important to start on a bright note. A good start to a year goes a long way in ensuring that you have the motivation to continue on that winning path for the remainder of the year.Tennis players know this fact better than most and leave no stone unturned to achieve just that. There are several factors that need to be looked at before analysing a player's success over a period of time.A winning streak often involves a player's triumph on different surfaces, different conditions and of course his/her opposition. They look ruthless and every obstacle looks surmountable.[Note: The best starts include major titles won that lead to a winning streak]Let us look at the best starts to a season in the Open era:
#5 Rafael Nadal - 2009
From being a predominantly clay court player to winning titles on all surfaces, Rafael Nadal showed why he was the World No. 1 at the end of 2008. However, there were still questions asked about him not able to win in Melbourne and New York.
He answered the first of those questions in style by beating his arch-rival Roger Federer in a thrilling five-setter at Rod Laver Arena. Nadal won his 13th Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells by crushing Andy Murray in the finals.
The King of Clay won all clay tournaments he participated in before the French Open. He captured his fifth consecutive Monte-Carlo title by overcoming Novak Djokovic in the final.
His compatriot David Ferrer couldn't stop him from winning his fifth title in Barcelona. In the second Masters 1000 clay event of the year in Rome, Nadal again defeated Djokovic to head into Paris with all the momentum in the world.
Nadal was the overwhelming favorite to win his fifth Roland Garros title that year. However, a certain Robin Soderling had other ideas. In what many consider as the upset of the century, the Swede took out Nadal in four sets by playing lights out tennis. That is the only loss for the Spaniard on the Parisian clay till date.