Who's your Euro? That's the question for tennis fans at the U.S. Open, which gets under way this week in New York City. Is it the melted-chocolate-smooth Swiss, Roger Federer, 25, or the bulldog from Spain, Rafael (Rafa) Nadal, 20? The top-ranked players in the world--Federer is No. 1, Nadal No. 2--have met in two major finals this summer, with the dirtballing specialist Nadal spoiling Federer's bid for the Grand Slam by beating him on the clay at the French Open. Federer, in turn, held serve against Rafa on the drag-strip grass at Wimbledon to win his fourth straight title at the fortnight.
A finals duel in Flushing, N.Y., could be the hard-court rubber match and fuel a high-profile clash that professional tennis craves. Although the two players downplay the rivalry, it was the fierce face-offs between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and McEnroe and nerveless Swede Bjorn Borg, that drove the sport to its heights. Since 1992, the year Jimmy and Mac finally hung up their racquets, the number of Americans playing tennis has fallen 36%, to 11 million, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Television ratings have trended downward too.
Don't count on American players to revive the game's popularity. Sure, a hometown surprise is always possible in Queens. Slumping Andy Roddick took an Open tune-up tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio; Harvard man James Blake, ranked fifth in the world, is a serious threat; and after Andre Agassi's fairy-tale romp to last year's final, you can't discount the 36-year-old in the last tournament of his career. But a stunning American meltdown at Wimby--for the first time in nearly a century, no U.S. man or woman reached the quarterfinals--underscored the fact that U.S. tennis is on a downswing. Blame the lack of matchups, the Tiger Woods--inspired golf boom or the rise of extreme sports to occupy kids' time--bottom line, tennis in the U.S. is looking to Roger and Rafa. "We need something," says famed tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, sculptor of greats from Agassi to the Williams sisters to Maria Sharapova. "It's far too dry. And the common ingredient in all rivalries is the contrast, in styles of play or in personalities."
Roger and Rafa offer dozens of differences. Federer, the two-time defending U.S. Open champ who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles, threatening Pete Sampras' record of 14 championships, is refined (he wore a cream-colored blazer to his Wimbledon matches) and sublime. "The way Roger moves, he's a ballet dancer out there," says McEnroe. "He floats above the court. His style is the most beautiful I've seen." Federer's volleys, awe-inspiring angled shots, and fluid one-handed backhand recall a bygone serve-and-volley era before today's high-tech racquets encouraged players to grip and rip missiles from the baseline. Says veteran tennis broadcaster Bud Collins: "He looks as though he woke up from a time capsule."