God mode on...

[wy2sl0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqQ78RE49g

lol ridiculous half-volleys with pace in 25 mph winds.

Despite the bad record, Fed played better than he ever has against Nadal. Doing everything Djokovic did to exploit him; hit the ball on the rise, hit it deep, and give Rafa his own medicine (exploit the backhand weakness)

Why did it take him 8 years to figure this out? I hope he watches tape back before AO 2013.

[InspectorRacquet]

Even score-wise, I think their round robin match at the World Tour Finals in 2011 was the better match. Although Nadal wasn't doing great, Federer was, and that showed in the score.

As far as giving Nadal a taste of his own medicine - I think Federer eventually realized it's not a cheap tactic if your opponent does the same thing.

[フェデラー]

Originally Posted by wy2sl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqQ78RE49g

lol ridiculous half-volleys with pace in 25 mph winds.

Despite the bad record, Fed played better than he ever has against Nadal. Doing everything Djokovic did to exploit him; hit the ball on the rise, hit it deep, and give Rafa his own medicine (exploit the backhand weakness)

Why did it take him 8 years to figure this out? I hope he watches tape back before AO 2013.

God mode was 2005 miami final I still have no idea how he managed to pull that off. I actually was a huge rafa fan at the time (still kind of am, just to a lesser degree), and I took a nap thinking, oh rafa is obviously going to win, and when I woke up i saw Roger won, and was thoroughly shocked.

[10is]

I think their 2006 TMC encounter is the best either of them has played against each other on hard court. I personally think Nadal was a far more formidable hard court player in 2005 and 2006 despite not having won a hard court major at the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vREl8AErhbA

Their 2007 match wasn't too shabby either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7do5BFgzA

[wy2sl0]

Originally Posted by 10is

I think their 2006 TMC encounter is the best either of them has played against each other on hard court. I personally think Nadal was a far more formidable hard court player in 2005 and 2006 despite not having won a hard court major at the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vREl8AErhbA

Their 2007 match wasn't too shabby either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7do5BFgzA

Hot damn that 06 match was epic. Nadal standing inside or on the baseline alot of the time, nice to see.

[Mike Sams]

Federer can't beat Nadal over 5 sets as long as he has that 1 handed backhand. He doesn't have the physical power with 1 hand to drive the ball deep the way Djokovic can. You need 2 hands on the racquet.

[underground]

WTF 2011 was definitely a better match for Fed. Not only the scoreline, in WTF he only produced 8 UEs as opposed to 20+ in IW.'

Notice how Fed now constantly uses heave top spin towards Rafa's BH, sort of like looping it and kicking it off the court. However he hits it dead flat to Rafa's FH. It sort of matches Fed's playing style, i.e. flat inside-outs and heavy top-spin inside-ins. Rafa likes to push insane angles with the BH so he probably couldn't do that easily with the topspin. And plus it's harder for him to moonball when the ball's coming dead fast down to your FH.

[Rozroz]

but wasn't the 2011 WTF the time when most top players came exhausted and Fed had an easeir task? especially vs Nadal.

[Homeboy Hotel]

Roger beating Rafa at Windrian Wells!

What went wrong a couple weeks before at the Grand Slam - Australian Open?

[namelessone]

Originally Posted by 10is

I think their 2006 TMC encounter is the best either of them has played against each other on hard court. I personally think Nadal was a far more formidable hard court player in 2005 and 2006 despite not having won a hard court major at the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vREl8AErhbA

Their 2007 match wasn't too shabby either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7do5BFgzA

LOL.

How?

Ok, so he was a bit more aggressive with the forehand and he was faster(this being six-seven years ago) but he went out earlier in hc events with far more regularity than say, after 2008-2009. Nadal didn't even make a AO or USO SF until 2008.

[namelessone]

Originally Posted by underground

WTF 2011 was definitely a better match for Fed. Not only the scoreline, in WTF he only produced 8 UEs as opposed to 20+ in IW.'

Notice how Fed now constantly uses heave top spin towards Rafa's BH, sort of like looping it and kicking it off the court. However he hits it dead flat to Rafa's FH. It sort of matches Fed's playing style, i.e. flat inside-outs and heavy top-spin inside-ins. Rafa likes to push insane angles with the BH so he probably couldn't do that easily with the topspin. And plus it's harder for him to moonball when the ball's coming dead fast down to your FH.

True and I think it's because Fed or his camp saw that Nadal's BH has become increasingly vulnerable. It hasn't been a weapon for Nadal since say, late 2010. He seems to arrive late many times on that side and simply pushes the ball back instead of pounding it(at times) like he did in the past. Also, I noticed that in their 2012 matches(but not only) Federer didn't get passed as often when attacking Nadal on his BH side like in the past even though he still ate some FH passers.

The reason why Nadal was so tough a couple of years ago is that he could pass with regularity from both sides.

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by wy2sl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqQ78RE49g

lol ridiculous half-volleys with pace in 25 mph winds.

Despite the bad record, Fed played better than he ever has against Nadal. Doing everything Djokovic did to exploit him; hit the ball on the rise, hit it deep, and give Rafa his own medicine (exploit the backhand weakness)

Why did it take him 8 years to figure this out? I hope he watches tape back before AO 2013.

I swear it's like some of you people just started watching tennis yesterday. People have ALWAYS gone after Nadal's backhand. Always. Cvacula did not discover a thing that Nalby and Davy didn't figure out years ago.

And I highly doubt a player as good as Fed would take 8 years to figure out to hit to Nadal's backhand. That is just sheer lunacy.

[namelessone]

Originally Posted by Homeboy Hotel

Roger beating Rafa at Windrian Wells!

What went wrong a couple weeks before at the Grand Slam - Australian Open?

Nadal started playing a bit better and Federer's level went down after a fairly good first set. In a 2 out of 3 if helps that Fed's serving is good and that he can capitalize on a period where his play is solid and Rafa's is not. Not to mention that Nadal is a notorious slow starter, pun intended.

I think Rafa himself has said in the past that he feels more vulnerable in 2 out of 3 because between top players(but not only) it hinges on a couple of points whereas in slams you can get settled in after losing the first set and work your way up from there. There's far less breathing space in a 2 out of 3. Federer has beaten Nadal on clay, nevermind HC, in Hamburg,Madrid, even bageled him one time, but has never managed to beat him in RG.

[namelessone]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

And I highly doubt a player as good as Fed would take 8 years to figure out to hit to Nadal's backhand. That is just sheer lunacy.

The funny bit is that some people actually believe this.

I understand maybe being stubborn(as most top players are) with tactics against a fellow players for 1-2 years but 8? Come on.

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by namelessone

The funny bit is that some people actually believe this.

I understand maybe being stubborn(as most top players are) with tactics against a fellow players for 1-2 years but 8? Come on.

I know. What they don't realize is they are actually dissing their own fav when they make stupid statements like that. I believe it's just a way to excuse away the H2H between them. At least I hope it is,because Fed deserves far more credit than that.

[underground]

Originally Posted by namelessone

True and I think it's because Fed or his camp saw that Nadal's BH has become increasingly vulnerable. It hasn't been a weapon for Nadal since say, late 2010. He seems to arrive late many times on that side and simply pushes the ball back instead of pounding it(at times) like he did in the past. Also, I noticed that in their 2012 matches(but not only) Federer didn't get passed as often when attacking Nadal on his BH side like in the past even though he still ate some FH passers.

The reason why Nadal was so tough a couple of years ago is that he could pass with regularity from both sides.

Yes his backhand does seem to get weaker now. I think Rafa does really hate flat balls to his FH, see the Rosol match, when he want huge to the Rafa FH he had no answer.

[Clarky21]

I seriously cannot wait for Nadal to play Rosol again and beat him. Then maybe these silly Rosol comments will finally taper off.

[wy2sl0]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

I swear it's like some of you people just started watching tennis yesterday. People have ALWAYS gone after Nadal's backhand. Always. Cvacula did not discover a thing that Nalby and Davy didn't figure out years ago.

And I highly doubt a player as good as Fed would take 8 years to figure out to hit to Nadal's backhand. That is just sheer lunacy.

I don't understand why you would make that comment. I clearly said Federer, not anyone else.

I know you think what you think, but watching the matches tells a different story. Federer has NEVER abused Rafa's backhand as much as Rafa does his. Federer hits the ball all over the court, whereas even shotspot during their matches shows like 80% of the balls end up to Rogers backhand.

I am not calling him ********, or unable to adapt - I just think with an 18-10 record maybe he should watch back some tape and switch it up. Who else has beaten Rafa on all 3 surfaces in the same year? (Djokovic, a few others maybe?) It isn't like he isn't good enough to win. Almost all of their matches are close.

[Towser83]

Originally Posted by Homeboy Hotel

Roger beating Rafa at Windrian Wells!

What went wrong a couple weeks before at the Grand Slam - Australian Open?

Nadal got to him again and Roger didn't have the stamina(mental more than physical) maybe if he took the 3rd set tiebreak it might have been different. But I remember Federer dominating Nadal in the first set til Nadal hit a couple of good shots and got Fed in trouble on serve, then Fed hit the panic button, started playing the wrong shot, coming in off a poor shot etc, got broken and was back on serve. Somehow he won the tiebreak, but Nadal went through a patch of hitting some insane passing shots and defensive returns that landed just in and it gave Roger that sinking feeling again. Nadal probably would have come back down to earth if Federer could have stayed positive and Fed could have tested nadal instead of fading away.

Originally Posted by Clarky21

I swear it's like some of you people just started watching tennis yesterday. People have ALWAYS gone after Nadal's backhand. Always. Cvacula did not discover a thing that Nalby and Davy didn't figure out years ago.

And I highly doubt a player as good as Fed would take 8 years to figure out to hit to Nadal's backhand. That is just sheer lunacy.

Federer must know to go to his backhand, the thing is he's stubborn and a bit foolish sometimes, and probably a bit arrogant I'm sorry to say. I've had computer games where I've discovered I can win by exploiting one tactic again and again. It almost felt like cheating, but what the hell, I want to win, more power tome for discovering this. In this way Nadal will mainly hit to Fed's backhand all the time. He doesn't care if it's an "easy" strategey. I don't mean this as an insult, because in this way Nadal is smart. He has a system, he uses is because it will nearly always work pretty well. Against other players he will do different things, but against Feddy he has a plan and there's no need trying to go out of your way to play in a "nice" way.

Guys like Djokovic and Davydenko are not as talented as Federer and probably don't really care about how beautiful their tennis is. I get the feeling Federer wants to win the way he likes to play. He doesn't want to play a shot over and over, he wants to mix it up. The problem is, he often gets close to beating Nadal playing that way so he maybe feels the answer isn't to change his game, it's just to play his game better. Sadly most of the time Nadal is a bit too good mentally.

Fed knows what to do, he just struggles to break out of habbit on court. Nadal can be like this too.

Originally Posted by Clarky21

I seriously cannot wait for Nadal to play Rosol again and beat him. Then maybe these silly Rosol comments will finally taper off.

I'm glad you for once are confident of Nadal beating someone he will crap on Rosol from a great height. The Rosol hype is bloody ridiculous.

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by wy2sl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqQ78RE49g

lol ridiculous half-volleys with pace in 25 mph winds.

Despite the bad record, Fed played better than he ever has against Nadal. Doing everything Djokovic did to exploit him; hit the ball on the rise, hit it deep, and give Rafa his own medicine (exploit the backhand weakness)

Why did it take him 8 years to figure this out? I hope he watches tape back before AO 2013.

wow. i forgot about this