His argument was that Nadal has improved even with his all round game, in comparison with Federer, and hence won Wimbledon. His meaning (as I interpreted) was that Nadal hit most of his winners with passing shots, down the line returns, delicate touches and corner shots. Yes there were few shots he hit during that final.
But my point is that Nadal won the match mainly due to Federer’s mistakes and not only due to his improved game. Yes, his grass court game has improved leaps and bounces, thanks to his 3 year planning, by training on a specially made personal grass court at his home town Mallorca, Spain. There were only 5 service breaks, which reflect in the final scores. Both were neck to neck with winners, Federer was miles ahead on aces. Nadal’s service aces were not too many, and more than 50% of his serves were into Federer’s body or his backhand, without giving him any room to hit winners.
To put it straight….Federer was mentally beaten at Wimbledon, more than at tennis.
His main argument was that
• I must get rid of the “Power” word associated with Nadal in that blog.
• Further he went on to rate Federer at 9 on 10 on all round play and Nadal at 8.9 on 10
My counter statements:
• If one has a careful look at the entire paragraph, my emphasis also is on the fact that, the French Open drubbing was a major reason for Federer’s fall.
• Also I still want to stress here that Power and speed are Nadal’s biggest weapons, without which he cannot be the player he is now.
• My rating is Federer at 9.5 on 10 on all round play and Nadal at 8 on 10.
(Djokovic comes third at 7 on 10)
Because, Nadal at 22, has to go a long way with his service, backhand, volleys and service return winners.
Nadal had to improve his tennis to this extent only for one main reason, to be World No.1, which meant he had to play better than Federer. He has done this partly now, with his main challenge being to retain it for more than 237 weeks (Remember, Federer was No. 1 for this many weeks on the trot!!) Some people might argue that Federer did not have tough challengers for the No.1 slot. But it is mainly because he was consistent at the top and he was the best in the world, not because opponents were weak.
Federer has stayed free from major injuries; Nadal is struggling with his knees(One can see him play matches with taped knees). His game is more physical hence he shall have to be watchful with his fitness. He is as fit as a bull, but has to retain it for more years to come.
Finally, to sum it up, Nadal, with French and Wimbledon titles and the Olympic gold, looks to be the best in the world on current form, but Federer at number two does not mean he’s finished. He lost the medal at Beijing, but fought back in doubles to claim the Gold. The US open still is beckoning. However this time I shall be watchful by not jumping the gun. I will term Nadal as the favorite to win at Flushing Meadows, on current form. But my support always shall be for Federer.
To me, Nadal is still not the very best, so that he can be categorized as one of the tennis legends. He has miles to go, while Federer is already one. Federer never came across this challenge of getting his no.1 spot back, so this will be a big battle in store.
I must confess here…I was a big fan of Sampras before Federer came. Even when federer beat Sampras at Wimbledon in 2002, I did not suddenly switch sides. Federer became a great player for me only after he won his 3rd straight Wimbledon in 2005.Yes Nadal has won 4 straight French Opens, beating Federer thrice in finals, which makes it even bigger. But for the 1st time he has won a non- French open Grand slam. So he’s the one under pressure now to win more Grand slams.
And to make it clear, one year down the line if Nadal is still the world no.1 player, I will not hesitate to label Rafael Nadal as a legend…..
