My take on today's Federer vs Nadal.
(2007-07-08 20:06:53)
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First, today's Final is one of the very best in recent memory. Both players deserved to win. The match was so closed the difference on total points was only 7, with Roger on top!
While many think it was luck that Roger won, even Roger himself saying that too, I think the adjustments Roger made in the fifth and deciding set was the difference in this match. Instead of keep trying to hit topspins backhands on every backhand like he did most of the time in the previous 4 sets, he clearly used his slices more while he is not in position, which I think should be a much better strategy against a player like Nadal with his shoulder or even head high killer lefty topspins. Roger only goes for topspin backhand offensive shots when he has time tosetup and when the balls are waist high. That's so much more effective for Roger. And sometimes, he even ran around his backhand and hit a huge forehand to take control of a point. I just a little puzzle why Roger waited until the 5th set to make these adjustments.
While there is no question Nadal is the most mentally tough players on tour with a never die attitude on every point, there is a tremendous pressure on Roger in the final. He is not only playing against his only nemesis in tennis, he is also playing against history. And with Borg watching on from the side, and Wimbledon being Roger's "backyard" court, one can only imagine how much pressure Roger is facing! Meanwhile, there is hardly and pressure on Nadal. So for Roger to come out on top, it really says a lot about his mental toughness. The way he calmly hit those Aces/Service winners in the 5th set when facing 15-40 twice is really Sampras like!
As for the tennis skills along, there is no question Roger is a better, a more complete player. But Nadal clearly has a better strategy today for most of the match, we can see him clearly attacking Roger's backhand side. And as soon as the point started, he will try to engage a forehands to backhand rally, unless he has a clear open court, he would not hit to Roger's forehand side. It was such a simple but every effective strategy against Roger. He had played a great match today, and is a much better player than he was last year. No one really expects him to do well in grass court. but he shows everyone that can be a good grass court player too. Now let's see how he will do in the upcoming North American hard court season where he completely disappeared last year.
My take away from this Year's Wimbledon: while Federer and Nadal are distancing themselves further as the clear #1and #2 from the rest of the pack, Djokovic, Gasquet, Berdych, Bagdatis proved they are for real, but just need a year of two to be a real threats against the top 2 guys. Roddick, Davedenko, Blake, Gonzo, Hewitt, Safin, etc, may really have their best days behind them. Since seed #1 and #2 are always in the opposite of the draws, we might see the repeat of Federer/Nadal in many grand slam finals to come.