Does Federer have false hope in beating Nadal?

[VictorS.]

I was kind of surprised to see Federer's comments regarding his lack of success against Nadal:


Federer complimented himself on "a fantastic week" and felt his chances of one day overhauling Nadal on clay "went up."

"I've got to adjust quite a bit to play Rafael," Federer said. "But I already feel like I'm improving a lot. The more I play against him, the more I'll be able to figure out his game and the easier it will be."


These guys have played five times now. Nadal has won four of those contests. In addition, the one match that Federer actually won....that easily could've gone Nadal's way. Obviously a champion such as Federer knows how to stay positive and upbeat. However as a realistic tennis fan, you have to wonder does Nadal basically have Federer's number? I don't see what Federer can do differently from a tactical point of view to change this trend. Maybe I'm wrong, what do you all think?

[The Ripper]

To be perfectly honest, and I could be wrong, I think Federer may actually enjoy the challenge. Having a tough opponent will strengthen his game. All great players need a great rival (Sampras felt Agassi was great for his game). OMG, what if Federer figures Nadal out? Then who will he have to fight against? Gasquet, Monfils, Blake, Safin, Donald Young? Nadal is indeed a worthy opponent - let the games begin!

[wyutani]

wouldnt it be boring to have federe win alllllllllllllllllll-the freaking time? im glad nadal won...or tennis would be boring....

[goober]

Well I agree with Feds comments to a point. The more he plays Nadal the more he will get use to his style. It doesn't mean he is going to own him on clay next year, but the matches will probably start getting closer and closer. At some point Fed may start winning say half of his clay court matches against Nadal if he continues to improve on clay.

[tlm]

ya it really looked like his chances went up,he was lucky he won 1 set.How can fed say anything went up,isnt this the same guy that said nadal is one dimensional also.

It appears plain+simple to me nadal is better,this is the second final he has won over fed this year!

[superman1]

If Nadal was better, he'd be winning all the Slams. He wouldn't lose in the semis to Blake or in the 1st round against Moya. Nadal is still second place to Federer, and he's a pretty distant second place. I mean, Federer is the guy we're considering as the best of all time. Would you seriously place Nadal as the best of all time above all the greats? Do you seriously think Nadal will ever win 7 Grand Slams?

The fact is, all the greats have had someone that has given them trouble. I expect Federer to eventually turn this record around. Even if he doesn't, all it means is that Nadal's game matches up well against his.

[VictorS.]

Originally Posted by The Ripper

To be perfectly honest, and I could be wrong, I think Federer may actually enjoy the challenge. Having a tough opponent will strengthen his game. All great players need a great rival (Sampras felt Agassi was great for his game). OMG, what if Federer figures Nadal out? Then who will he have to fight against? Gasquet, Monfils, Blake, Safin, Donald Young? Nadal is indeed a worthy opponent - let the games begin!

I agree. I suppose this is the first REAL challenge Federer has really faced in the last few years. Obviously Safin surprised him at the Aussie Open. However it appears there is a player that Federer is having difficulty with. And I guess after thinking about it a little more, I wouldnt put it past Federer to "figure" out Nadal. Nalbandian had his number for a long while but Federer has finally found a way to beat him and is now considered the favorite when they play.

There's just a few things that have to make you wonder though:

* Nadal's exceptional speed and superior athleticism. Federer is a heck of an athlete however even he pales in comparison athletically to the explosive moving Nadal. Nadal's not getting any slower I'm guessing over the next 3-4 years.

* Nadal's stamina....simply he doesn't seem to tire. While his style may affect his long-term career, I don't see this being a problem over the next 3-4 years...now 10 years from, we'll see.

*Nadal's lefty, topspin game....I think if you look at the champions of the past....Borg, Lendl, Sampras. They were all quite successful against the lefties. Is this really an excuse?

[VictorS.]

Originally Posted by superman1

If Nadal was better, he'd be winning all the Slams. He wouldn't lose in the semis to Blake or in the 1st round against Moya. Nadal is still second place to Federer, and he's a pretty distant second place. I mean, Federer is the guy we're considering as the best of all time. Would you seriously place Nadal as the best of all time above all the greats? Do you seriously think Nadal will ever win 7 Grand Slams?

The fact is, all the greats have had someone that has given them trouble. I expect Federer to eventually turn this record around. Even if he doesn't, all it means is that Nadal's game matches up well against his.

Just wait. I think if he were healthy, he'd have made the finals in Australia. There's no doubt he's the second best player in the world. And let's not forget Nadal has his own player (who gives him problems) in James Blake. I don't forsee much success at Wimbledon and he'll probably not have the consistency that Federer has (who does??). However, I can definitely see him competing at the US Open and Australian Open over the next 3-4 years, easy. Heck, he's talented enough to maybe even have some luck at wimbledon given the right circumstances.

[edberg505]

Originally Posted by tlm

ya it really looked like his chances went up,he was lucky he won 1 set.How can fed say anything went up,isnt this the same guy that said nadal is one dimensional also.

It appears plain+simple to me nadal is better,this is the second final he has won over fed this year!

Ah there you are tlm, we haven't seen you since Nadal got put down by Moya. I'm assuming you will be here for all the clay court season then disappear win the tournament in Halle starts.

[travlerajm]

Originally Posted by The Ripper

To be perfectly honest, and I could be wrong, I think Federer may actually enjoy the challenge. Having a tough opponent will strengthen his game. All great players need a great rival (Sampras felt Agassi was great for his game). OMG, what if Federer figures Nadal out? Then who will he have to fight against? Gasquet, Monfils, Blake, Safin, Donald Young? Nadal is indeed a worthy opponent - let the games begin!

I agree with you. And I think Fed will be up to the challenge. If they meet again in the FO, I'd put my money on Fedex.

[Max G.]

Fed seems to be relishing the challenge - good for him! It gives him something to strive for.

Whether he's getting closer to beating Nadal or not - well, we'll never know until (if) he actually beats him. I figure it'll happen eventually. Federer isn't #1 in the world for nothing.

[superman1]

It's not false hope, it'll just take time. Last time Nadal beat him was on a fast hard court. After that match, Federer said he sort of figured out how to beat Nadal, on a FAST HARD COURT. Now he's on clay. Now he has to figure out Nadal on clay, and he's starting to do that. I expect at least one more final between the two before the French, and I'll still pick Federer as the winner.

[tlm]

Its going to start looking like lindsey davenport a couple of years ago she was ranked #1,but could never beat serena williams.I could care less about these points fed has racked up the last few years,i am talking about this year in two finals were you know fed never loses,a 19 year old one dimensional player beats him!

Who are you guys kidding, fed does not enjoy the challenge he is scared of nadal plain+simple.I keep hearing this same ******** fed is going to figure him out,next time he will do this or that.Nadal owns fed period!

[alm]

Originally Posted by VictorS.

"I've got to adjust quite a bit to play Rafael," Federer said. "But I already feel like I'm improving a lot. The more I play against him, the more I'll be able to figure out his game and the easier it will be."

I actually find this comment amusing. One of the very rare occasions the grand-master of tennis is left looking a little silly IMO. It's almost as though Federer is trying to convince himself that he's getting closer to the 'magic formula' to beat Nadal. You wouldn't have thought a 'one-dimensional' player such as Nadal would need so much figuring out would you?!

There really isn't much to figure out IMO. The question is whether Federer can compete with the level intensity, will-power and athleticism that Nadal brings to the court. Yesterday the answer was still NO. He's encountered an opponent who has no fear of him or his arsenal of shots and it looks like it's beginning to get to him. Who can blame Fed though? It's not like he encounters this problem often is it? He’s pretty much got the number for the whole of the tour so it’s nice to know there is at least one individual who has his number!

[tlm]

Ya after watching the match it really looked like fed is improving,what a joke.Fed was lucky he won a set.Nadal is better than fed plain+simple.

Alm stated it perfectly,it is nice to see that some people can see the truth.Nadal is a better athlete than any other player on tour,+ his will to win will not be denied!

[VictorS.]

Just some questions to throw out there for you guys:

* The answer is probably obvious. But do you guys think Nadal would have any chance of beating Federer on grass or a fast indoor court?

[Shabazza]

on grass no - straight set win for Fed
on indoor fast court, I can see Nadal taking a set from Fed, but not winning

[msn]

Right now, Nadal is clearly the best clay court player in the world. He may be one of the all time greats (he still has a ways to go).

Fed has small runs during his matches with Nadal where he just dominates, but he doesn't seem to be able to maintain this level. Nadal is one of the greatest counterpunchers of all time and maintains a fairly high level throughout a match.

I do feel Fed is 'catching up' to Nadal, as he seems to recover from bad patches more easily now, and he is moderately improving his backhand groundstrokes against Nadals heavy spin by blocking it more often deep rather than trying to really come over it.

If he could hold serve a little bit easier he would be in a much better position. Though it's not his normal play I would like to see him approach up the middle, taking the angles away from Rafa.

Should be interesting. Sampras/Agassi played twenty+ times, and I think we will see at least a handful of matches between Fed/Nadal every year for the next few years.

[The Ripper]

I think Federer has been struggling with the boredom factor in his career for awhile. The constant pressure and expectation of winning over and over again has to be overwhelming. It's huge to win Wimbledon once, but then twice, three times? Twice for the Australian, two U.S. Open's, two Indian Wells, Miami - it's amazing. He's proved to himself (most importantly) and to anyone paying attention that he's one of the great tennis players of all time. He is already very high in the record books. Now it's up to him whether to make more records and see how far he can go. Fed being a big fan of Sampras, I'm sure he'd like to win the FO for the books. He may not do it this year, but I bet he'll keep playing until he does, especially since the other three are under his belt, twice, three times!

Besides winning the French, his only challenge out there (besides the record books) is Nadal. How interesting that the French and Nadal are wrapped up into one. I could care less if Federer never won another tournament, but I would like to see him win the French just so we have a present-day grand slam champion; Federer could then go back to Switzerland and relax for a few years and let Nadal sweep up the leftovers. I bet Fed would enjoy the break.

[VictorS.]

You know, Federer's chances at the French are not that bad, even still. Nadal and Federer will certainly be on the opposites sides of the draw. If Nadal somehow gets upset or has to pull out due to injury, I think Federer's chances are better than anybody's. He's the second best player on clay right now clearly.