can Fed just wait till Nadal is burnt out , say three or four years later?

[hlkimfung]

it seem Fed still got a good 5 years with him. With Nadal current grinding, it's hard to imagine if he can maintain the intensity for another 3 years.

So instead of trying so hard to win the RG, should Fed just sit back and wintness the melt down of Nadal, then come out to take the RG, since he's already the second best on clay currently by a big stretch.

Of course, there can be another Nadal emerge after this Nadal, but I think it's just unwise to collide head on with Nadal.

Agassi win the RG in 99 by beating the 100th ranked Medevdev. That does not make him a 'lesser' RG Champion than Fed if he beat Nadal to win the French

[Heavy Metal Tennis Star]

NO!, fed play like a bum today, so many UE's.

[boojay]

I would hope that Fed has more pride than that. Knowing Fed, he's a true champion, and would want to properly dethrone Nadal at his peak.

That said, there's no shame in beating someone else, but it would be much more satisfying to take the title against his nemesis.

[Simon Cowell]

LoL, is this a joke? Wait till Nadal is burnt out? Newsflash: Nadal is younger than Federer and will only get better over time. Federer is the one more likely to burn out soon.

[grizzly4life]

i don't think too many think that fed has 5 good-great years left. ties into my question in the match results thread. how much does federer invest time-wise into peak fitness? arguable he doesn't need it 95% of matches, but i think he could have used it today (or maybe i'm wrong about his fitness)

[Zaragoza]

I think Federer has a couple of years to win the FO. His fitness and footwork isn´t going to be better after 28.

[caulcano]

Originally Posted by Zaragoza

I think Federer has a couple of years to win the FO. His fitness and footwork isn´t going to be better after 28.

IMHO, I think he has next year left.

But then again he may pull off an 'agassi' and reach a FO without meeting Nadal in the final but against a complete newbie in their first GS final.

[Morrissey]

Originally Posted by caulcano

IMHO, I think he has next year left.

But then again he may pull off an 'agassi' and reach a FO without meeting Nadal in the final but against a complete newbie in their first GS final.

I agree with that he has next year left too. In response to the title thread, if he waits four years to win it he´ll turn 30 yrs old in 2011 and I don´t think he´ll be second best clay courter at that time. With all these new guns constantly emerging Nadal may even have 5-6 RG titles by then and some new Spaniard or Argentine will be the next future RG champ. Fed has next year to do it, if he doesn´t do by then he´ll never do it. What Agassi did was the miracle of miracles. Don´t count on things like that happening again. I certainly don´t expect players going into their mid 30´s contending for grand slam titles. Fed can possibly win Wimby until he´s 33 but not the French Open. Some 20 or 21 yr old kid from a Spanish speaking country will win it then.

[racquetfreak]

Even if he doesn't win RG in the future, there is still a strong case for Fed to be all-time best. Three consequetive RG finals only to lose to the best clay-courter ever each time is quite an achievement. He may yet win it in the future. I would give it the same odds as Nadal winning the other three slams in future years. The odds for either scenario are more than reasonable.

[Mr. Sean]

Fed will have more of a chance of burning out before nadal. Fed is already 25. I think the window for Fed to win on clay is closing. I think a good plan B for Fed is to just totally focus on winning the French as he gets older. He should forget about the pressure of being number one and winning wimbledon us open and just focus on the french.

[Kobble]

That is like saying wait for Bruguera and Courier to burnout. What, so you can get Kuerten. Try your best all the time.

[TheNatural]

wrong- see last line

Federer faces final test in Nadal

# Follow the match on BBC2, Five Live Sport and this website from 1400 BST on Sunday


FEDERER (1) v NADAL (2)
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
25................Age................21
Switzerland....Born.........Spain
1................Ranking.............2
48................Titles..............21
$30.5m......Earnings....$10.2m
10...........Grand Slams........2
4...........Head-to-head........7
Roger Federer will try for the second time to complete his set of Grand Slam titles when he faces Rafael Nadal in Sunday's French Open final.

Federer hopes to become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four major titles at once but faces the ultimate test in defending champion Nadal.

When Federer was in the same position 12 months ago, Nadal won in four sets.

The Spaniard is going for a hat-trick of French Open titles and has a 20-0 unbeaten record at Roland Garros.

For Federer, the records have been tumbling seemingly every week in recent years but victory in the only Grand Slam event played on clay remains his biggest target.

The 25-year-old Swiss will be appearing in his eighth consecutive Grand Slam final - a record, of course - and going for an 11th major title that would lift him level with Laver and Bjorn Borg on the all-time list.


He has already won the title twice, so I'd say he's the favourite

Federer on Nadal

But for all his achievements he goes into the final as an underdog, such is Nadal's dominance on clay and especially at Roland Garros.

Federer finally got his first win over the Spaniard on clay in Hamburg last month, ending Nadal's record unbeaten run on the surface of 81 matches, but conditions at the German event are very different to those in Paris.

"He beat me last time in Hamburg, so maybe he's the favourite," said Nadal.

"He's playing very well on clay this season - a final here, a final in Monte Carlo, champion in Hamburg.

"He's the world number one, so he's always the favourite before the match. I think he will be very positive.

"But he has more pressure on him, because what is at stake is more than just winning a final.

"What he's aiming at is winning a Grand Slam. As for me, I just want to win the final of a Grand Slam. He's got exactly the same pressure, then additional pressure."

Federer is equally keen to talk up his opponent.

"He has already won the title twice, so I'd say he's the favourite," said the Swiss. "He's also won 81 matches in a row and is number one on clay this year.

"The only difference is that I know now that I have defeated Rafa on clay in Hamburg, so maybe that will help me get on the right tracks.

"But I would have preferred Djokovic (in the final), to be honest."

Originally Posted by boojay

I would hope that Fed has more pride than that. Knowing Fed, he's a true champion, and would want to properly dethrone Nadal at his peak.

That said, there's no shame in beating someone else, but it would be much more satisfying to take the title against his nemesis.

[VGP]

You (the OP) make it sound like there's no one else on tour or coming up to become a real clay court contender.

He's got to try his best every time he tries and plays RG.

Next year, the year after, every year he's still out on tour to win.

[caulcano]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sean

Fed will have more of a chance of burning out before nadal. Fed is already 25. I think the window for Fed to win on clay is closing. I think a good plan B for Fed is to just totally focus on winning the French as he gets older. He should forget about the pressure of being number one and winning wimbledon us open and just focus on the french.

I think that's what he did this year but didn't expect Nadal to be stronger than last year.

I think he should stick to what he does best & win as many of the other GS as posibly. I don't think he should invest too much time on the FO in the future.