Nadal Surpasses Federer in Fantastic Final
Federer played very well overall, but he converted only one of thirteen break chances. On some of those break points, Nadal came up with exceptional brilliance, but Roger also faltered a few times, missing forehands he should have put away. Roger's forehand, widely considered one of the all-time best strokes in tennis, also let him down on a couple of the break points he was trying to defend, including on the crucial break in the fifth set.
Having beaten Roger easily in the Roland Garros final and now narrowly at Wimbledon, Rafa has to be considered currently the best player in men's tennis. Nadal's forehand has nearly equaled Federer's, although it's quite different, with more topspin and less depth. What separates them most is the backhand, which Rafa can hit with much more topspin than Roger can and now also relatively flat, with more pace and depth. Nadal's two-handed backhand is also much less vulnerable on high balls than Federer's one-hander. Roger still has the bigger serve, but Rafa has the huge advantage of a left-handed serve that, on the ad side, he can slice wide to a right-hander's backhand side, topspin-slice wide and high, or place up the middle to curve into the receiver's body and jam him. Rafa also surprised Roger with a few twist serves that bounced to Roger's right, the opposite of any serve with slice.
2008 has been a disappointing year for Roger so far, but his fans have good reason to hope that he'll redeem some of it as the main hard-court season gets underway, leading up to the US Open, where Roger is the reigning champion. Hard courts are Rafa's least favorite surface.
Comments
It was a great match indeed and sad to see Roger lose the match. But, am sure that we will bounce back. Very soon.
I was very impressed by Roger’s complete and maturity of his game.
The mental game was definitely there to win both tie breakers and come back from a two set deficit.
A mark of a true champion and one who has many years of grand slams leftto win.
His only lacking of answer is to Nadal’s dominance is on clay. The 2008 French Open Final was just an unbelievably performance by Nadal.
If Roger wants to send a message to Rafa, he will have to beat him in the 2009 French Open and return the Wimbledon favor. He has the talent to win.
His caliber of serve, and shot making ability really had Rafa on the defensive for the majority of the Wimbledon match.
I did not see catastrophic weakness, but the different which prevented the win was the careless loss of opportunity from converting break points. Unforced errors were just too many especially off the forehand side.
Also, who really loses a 4-2 lead in the second set? Just holding serve would have won him the match easily. His serve was inconsistent enough at the wrong times even though he served so many aces.
Look at what he did in those two sets in the tiebreaker. Rafa was the one who was nervous and not mentallytough..this is easy to see.
That was a winnable match by Roger..afterall, if his level of play was not so brilliant..we could all write him off as of now.
Did we not see brilliant play from him? I do not believe this win on grass of a few point in which Roger threw the match away is indicative of people placing Rafa as the best player in the world..on clay yes.. of course..
What he came out and did after that demoralizing loss at the French shows
you the fire which will make him a very dangerous player from now onwards.
You cannot suffer losses such as these and not win, especially with his talent. These lessons are designed to make you stronger and a stronger Federer will emerge victorious.
The only way he will lose is to give up.
Rafa and Roger are both on a different level from the rest of the field.
He has to put all the pieces together because Nadal’s game is still not complete
as his is and he is still the better player. (serve and volley) Their grounds strokes
are very competitive but you can see Roger with the pace and depth really moved
Rafa around the court.
This was amazing to see how the points were constructed by Roger.. On clay Rafa
is the one who dictates the play with a more defensive topspin patient game.
I think Rafa is a just an incredible player and human being, but his recent vast improvementover Roger tell you the state of his previous level of game was lower than Roger’s.
I am especially interested in how Rafa will mold his own game towards a more offensive style such as serve and volley. Even Rafa has made some progress here by increasing the pace of his serve.
Roger is an offensive player and Nadal is a defensive player. Both can benefit from
incorporating each other’s game into their own style. Defensive Patience for Roger is
essential on the French Clay.
Roger is a complete player and through better tactical and strategic planning/excecution,
is the reason his is not winning on both clay and grass.
You HAVE to win matches at this level – Rafa is not going to hand them over to you. Nadal is extremely talented.
Come to think of it. Roger makes every Grand Slam Final.. so it is his to win or lose..
Roger did not WIN Wimbledon 2008…instead he lost..gave it away.
Rafa is an incredible talent and it is not easy to write this as I have a tremendous respect for him (class and humility). His game is very physical and he has to be mindful on the wear and tear it produces as he cannot maintain this if he expects to have a long career. Joints are the weakest links in our physiology and he is already feeling the effects on his knees.
We cannot help but feel the sadness for a champion who really should have won.
Rafa congratulations on Wimbledon..you have achieved a step towards the major milestone of greatness in tennis.