[1] NADAL vs. [3] FEDERER - Semifinal Miami 2011

Who will be a 2011 Finalist?

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GhostDog said:
The most disappointing aspect of Fed's play tonight for me is that it just looked like he was going through the motions out there. I saw no fight, or passion. His unwillingness to change his tactics was mind boggling. :confused:
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he did come to the net a few times, but screwed up there as well. Nothing wrong tactically, his execution itself was screwed up totally.
 
Today's match is the best concentration Nadal has shown this year against a top 10 opponent. No lapses today, but of course it was a very quick match so not much time to lapse!1
 
GhostDog said:
The most disappointing aspect of Fed's play tonight for me is that it just looked like he was going through the motions out there. I saw no fight, or passion. His unwillingness to change his tactics was mind boggling. :confused:
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Federer has done that a lot in his career in matches vs Nadal. I think Federer doesn't want his feelings hurt so he doesn't get too pumped up when he's losing (so the loss doesn't hurt as much). Not a winners mentality!1
 
I saw the second set from 2-0 and I think Roger's only aim was in that set was not to get bagelled.
The hilarious part of course is that he STILL hit more winners than Nadal.
 
mandy01 said:
I saw the second set from 2-0 and I think Roger's only aim was in that set was not to get bagelled.
The hilarious part of course is that he STILL hit more winners than Nadal.
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Really? :shock: Wow, after that match I figured Nadal would have way more winners.
 
Leonidas said:
You´re an idiot. In fact, Miami is faster than , at least, Indian wells, Toronto and Montreal. Federer is nowadays worse than Nadal on every single surface, PERIOD. (he has a chance only indoors on a really fast court, like masters cup)
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Uhm no.AFAIK Miami is the slowest playing HC but that doesn't matter.Roger's played better matches than that on REAL clay so that isn't an excuse.
 
mandy01 said:
I saw the second set from 2-0 and I think Roger's only aim was in that set was not to get bagelled.
The hilarious part of course is that he STILL hit more winners than Nadal.
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Sid_Vicious said:
Really? :shock: Wow, after that match I figured Nadal would have way more winners.
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To be fair to Rafa though, Fed was being greedy and wasn't giving Rafa the chance to do anything in the match. It either ended in a Fed winner or Fed error (mostly the latter) :lol:
 
DragonBlaze said:
To be fair to Rafa though, Fed was being greedy and wasn't giving Rafa the chance to do anything in the match. It either ended in a Fed winner or Fed error (mostly the latter) :lol:
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Nadal was just playing like an animal out there and Fed was just making error upon error. Gulp! :confused: :evil:
 
GhostDog said:
The most disappointing aspect of Fed's play tonight for me is that it just looked like he was going through the motions out there. I saw no fight, or passion. His unwillingness to change his tactics was mind boggling. :confused:
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I agree with you but what could he do? Rafa was a steamroller! I think the only thing Fed could have done was turn back the clock a few years maybe.
 
Total beat down, fed is done this was a total disgrace. This was no indoor serving contest, this was real hard tennis.
 
mandy01 said:
Uhm no.AFAIK Miami is the slowest playing HC but that doesn't matter.Roger's played better matches than that on REAL clay so that isn't an excuse.
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Exactly Miami is slow but why make all of these excuses? Roger played poorly irrespective of the surface.
 
I feel like Federer played as well as a world #50 in that match. Routine victory for Rafa, who played well but didn't even have to do much.
 
pound cat said:
Federer should have made a graceful Sampras like exit from tennis. And that's the bottom line.
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I have to be really honest but I feel the same way. What the hell does he have left to prove any longer? Enough already! There is something to be said for a graceful exit at the top. The same thing will happen to Nadal and Djokovic and every other tennis player from now on--i.e.aging and decline. Nobody is above it.
 
Poor match from Federer for sure, never really got anything going for a reasonable stretch. But I think Nadal particularly served very well, he may have let Federer back in the match in the 2nd, didn't and stayed on course.

Not sure what's the fuss about Federer's attitude; win or lose, Nadal or anyone else, he almost always looks like that on court. He simply played a bad match. Federer mishitting groundstrokes when he's pulled into a lot of rallies on a slow court against Nadal should not be unexpected. It of course suggests he played poorly, but I would say it doesn't mean a whole a lot than that.
 
Rippy said:
Sure, Fed's playing like crap, but I don't really see why he should retire if he wants to keep playing.

And a graceful exit like Sampras?! Sampras was ranked far lower than Federer is when he retired.
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But Sampras came to the realization that he would not be happy if he could not be competitive any longer. Plus he was sick of the grind. Honestly can Roger really be happy with losses like this? More power to him if he can, but, I just find it hard to believe that a man with his ego can withstand all of this stuff. If I were in his shoes I could not do it for sure. I would want to get out with dignity in place.
 
Federer's press conference part 1

April 1, 2011
R. NADAL/R. Federer
6‑3, 6‑2
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You've heard your name called many times around the world. Have you ever heard quite so intense and such a testimonial to you as tonight?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, yeah, I mean, I don't know. Haven't gone through every match I've ever played, but it's definitely a very nice feeling to get the support from the crowd, you know, especially against Rafa, obviously.
Yeah, I think definitely had something to do with the score. I'm not sure I wanted it or not because it meant I was down in the score. Definitely nice hearing my name go through the stadium. I've had some great times here in Miami. Definitely nice feeling to have to play out there and hear that.

Q. You want to break it down for us?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think it's always a bit of an adjustment obviously for me coming out and playing Rafa ‑‑ any lefty, I guess, but him in particular. That's what kind of made it hard tonight.
I tried to warm with a lefty, Bob Bryan, and tried to get as acclimatized as I could against him. It's just hard. In the first couple games you get break down, and then I felt like conditions weren't really favoring me as well.
I knew it was slow, but just makes it so hard it hit through him on a surface like this. Then maybe you try to overhit a bit, and then obviously I start taking wrong decisions on big points.
From then on, you're down a set and a break, and it's not easy to come back. I thought he played well. He played tough and he played good when he had to, and I didn't do that tonight.
So it's disappointing for me.

Q. It seemed like your backhand just wasn't there tonight. Did you feel it was off from the beginning? Did you want to just run around it all night?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I guess so. What else you want to me to tell you?

Q. Looked like in the fifth game in the first set that you were finding some rhythm and started to find your groove. Is there anything about that?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, clearly I'm not going to go through a match not being able to make any shot at all. I'm going to get through a few games where I feel better.
Like I said, I had a few mini chances, which against Rafa I was down right away. From then it was an uphill battle. When I did have chances I played poorly and he came up with some good stuff. Off night for me, unfortunately.

Q. What does this surface add or take away from your game? You talked about it being as slow as clay. Just more specifically, is it higher bounce? Too much time for him?
ROGER FEDERER: Particularly against players like Rafa who like to have a bit more time and gives the, an opportunity to return from way back, from in front, defend like they can and so forth, it's definitely helpful.
You can't sort of shoot through the court too much. It's always got to be worked out every rally. That's not how we played against each other in London, and knew it wasn't going to be anything like this tonight.
But, yeah, it's what it is. I've played really well on this surface in the past. Tonight, unfortunately, it wasn't the night for me.

Q. Are you satisfied wit the way you served tonight? Were you expecting it to help you a bit more?
ROGER FEDERER: I didn't see the statistics, so how did it feel? Felt okay, I guess. I served in spells. I knew I wasn't going to get the free points like on the faster surfaces, and that makes it harder against Rafa, getting some momentum on your service games. Every time you miss your serve you're going to be in a tough rally and so forth.
That's what the serve is ‑‑ tonight I was hoping to get a few more free points. I did when I was hitting my spots nicely, but...
I didn't think I served poorly, but Rafa did well and got a lot of balls back. I was just not good on the offensive tonight, and that kind of took all the opportunities away to create something tonight.

Q. Does this widen the gap, or are you more determined than ever to get back?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, for me those are not big setbacks. I wish I could play better right now against those guys, but it is what it is. I'm the last guy who gets pulled all the way down and then can't get up for the next tournament.
I'm excited going Monaco now. I'm going to fly there directly and prepare as well as I can for the clay court season. It's a big swing coming up now in Europe, so that's the mindset.
Yeah, I want to do well and I want to do better. I got the opportunity in a couple weeks already.

Q. 3‑Love down in the second set, Love‑30, you felt like you were right there, right?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, well, right there is different for me. But I wasn't far from maybe getting a break, let's put it that way. Did I have any breakpoints tonight?

Q. One.
ROGER FEDERER: One. I don't remember how I messed it up, but, yeah, I had a chance. Could have attacked better on one of them and ended up, yeah, not hitting it perfectly. So just one of those nights.

Q. Coming into the match what was your mentality? What did you want to do? Show? What did you anticipate coming into the match?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I was confident. I was feeling well. Clearly I had in the back of my mind also how has this tournament been for me? Has it been as perfect as I wanted it to be getting into the semis?
I knew there were some doubts after all getting through the match with Simon, Rochus, a match with Monaco, extremely hot. I'm not saying that Rafa didn't have ‑‑ I don't know how his matches have been, but he just played a night session against Berdych. That definitely helped him.
Then again, regardless I'm not sure I would have beaten Rafa tonight. I just couldn't play my game. Maybe that has something to do with the lack of rhythm I got all week from the opponents I've played, from the conditions I played in.
But those are not excuses. Those are just facts. I knew those were a few things that could go wrong. Maybe that was one of the things. But then again, Rafa is such a unique player in terms of how he plays that he always makes it difficult for any player.
I was determined and trying to cut down the length of the rallies, taking the ball early, serving well and mixing it up well ‑ and then a few specific details I'm not going to share ‑ but I wasn't able to do to tonight; Rafa was able to do his game plan, and he deserves to be in the finals.

Q. With the exception of Andre and maybe Connors back in the day, there haven't been too many players winning slams after 29. What do you feel like you have up your sleeve that you're going to be able to use to win some slams in the future?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, I don't know. You tell me. I don't know. I think I've done quite well over the last ten years. I feel like I've done a lot more than some other players, so I feel like I'm ‑‑ yeah, we'll see how it all plays out.
We'll see at 36, 39 how many more I was able to get or not. We're not going to predict how many I'm going to get or not. I'm enjoying myself right now, and I feel like if I'm playing well I can get those. That's what I care about right now.

Q. After Rafa's play today, do you think it's going to start a new era with Djokovic and Nadal on the top?
ROGER FEDERER: Possibly. I don't know. You tell me. Let's see in five years. Look back. It's not like Novak hasn't been around. Guys all talk about it like the guy can't play tennis. It's disappointing.

Q. It took Pete a long time to get his last title, and some of the other guys also, before they made that final statement, went through a lot of stuff. Are you prepared and thinking about maybe having to go through all that and ultimately prove your point? Is that a challenge, or more of a hassle and a drag?
ROGER FEDERER: No, bigger hassle is being asked all the time these questions. I don't know how many times I need to answer until I just say I'm not going to answer it anymore. Up to you how many times I will have to answer the question until I'm sick and tired of it.
But I know that I can do many more things in the game. Sure, it's disappointing losing a game like tonight, but those are the matches I work extremely hard for in the off‑season and practice, and I'm very excited by what's to come still.
I don't feel like I'm 35 like you guys make me sound I am. I'm still only 29, and I have many more years left.
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Part 2 of Roger's press conference

Q. Is it a Grand Slam title, or are you also thinking Olympics, Wimbledon, grass?
ROGER FEDERER: You name it. It's not only just the slams for me. I like any tournament, that's why I play them. Otherwise it would be like only playing eight tournaments a year.

Q. Where are the Olympics?
ROGER FEDERER: They're high, sure. I would love to win the Olympic gold. Who wouldn't? And who wouldn't want to win them at Wimbledon?
It's clearly a big goal and I'm thinking about, but it's not my No. 1 goal in my career right now. It's one after another. There are a lot of the highlights in tennis, which is great. Thank God we have those. I don't know how I would handle having a highlight every four years, to be honest.
I think we're very lucky in tennis. I think that's why it's very easy to go from one tournament to the next, because the next one is as big as the other. We have so many wonderful events around the world, and the tour is on such a high right now, such a great buzz around it.
So I wouldn't want to miss that, playing with all those guys at the moment and facing off and seeing how I can do against them. I've had a great last sort of six to nine months, and I'm looking forward to what's to come until Wimbledon at least right now.

Q. You have a favorite for the final here?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, I think it's pretty open, obviously because of how Rafa played tonight and how he can play in finals. He's got a great winning record for finals in general. I don't know if he's ever won here? He hasn't.
I think it would be nice for him to win here for the first time. He should have beaten me here six years ago I was down two sets to love and a break and breakpoints if I am not mistaken. So he should have gotten that one, but I snuck that one out on him.
Novak has been playing great this season. Yeah, I think Rafa is going to give Novak a run for the money, and I'm going to pick Rafa.
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Basically Rogi had to play a lefty and his previous matches sort of upset his rhythm and the court was awfully slow, otherwise he would have straighted Rafa.

nadal best class
Walenty said:
Wow, I'm actually glad I ended up being unable to watch this match........
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Same here.
 
MichaelNadal said:
Man they were being a-holes in the presser with those questions. Jeez.
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That's the nature of the media beast. And why just blame them, we do the same here! I think the fact is that no one likes losers - we like to be on the bandwagon of the one who is ascending and kick down the guy who is falling. But Roger is a big boy. he got the accolades, he should be able to handle this as well.
 
I love this quote from him

He should have beaten me here six years ago I was down two sets to love and a break and breakpoints if I am not mistaken. So he should have gotten that one, but I snuck that one out on him.
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People seem to give Federer so much crap when he makes assessments like "I could have won that match, but it got away" etc etc. And usually he's right there as well. But as the above quote shows, he has no problem admitting it the other way around. He is just frank, but for some reason people take his statements wayyy out of context.
 
nikdom said:
That's the nature of the media beast. And why just blame them, we do the same here! I think the fact is that no one likes losers - we like to be on the bandwagon of the one who is ascending and kick down the guy who is falling. But Roger is a big boy. he got the accolades, he should be able to handle this as well.
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He's handled it just fine which doesn't mean every moronic question should meet the same response.Let's not forget that the journos themselves make a good deal of money out of these peoples' success.So it's a mutual thing and if they're going to be pathetic they deserve stern responses.
 
MichaelNadal said:
Man they were being a-holes in the presser with those questions. Jeez.
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Such as which one exactly?
Those are normal and realistic questions.
This is what the public wants to know.
Whether Fed doesn't like them is another matter.
He replied well though, realistic too.
I think both sides in the interview room did their job.

While you're in the bullring, you need to face Nadal, then the press.
He has done much better tonight with the 2nd, unfortunately.

None of the shots worked on a consistent basis, he made 4x more errors than Nadal.
The footwork, the kneework, the ball watching, all were awful tonight. Like blinded by the lights.
80% of the time not in the right position at the end of a decent rally, caught standing as a beginner with straight knees, not flexed.
No plan B whatsoever (2 out of 5 at the net for a set doesn't show that as plan B).
Reason enough for cutting questions. He's not a boy.

And worst: his morale went down immediately after he saw Nadal blasting away during the first service game, covering very wide angles with his shots. He was broken immediately afterwards. I could see it right then.
 
Last edited:
cc0509 said:
I agree with you but what could he do? Rafa was a steamroller! I think the only thing Fed could have done was turn back the clock a few years maybe.
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He would have had to do it on both of them. Because only half the problem was that Roger didn't seem to have answers -- I'd submit the other half of the "problem" was that Rafa was playing some bangin' tennis (and part of that is that he's raised his game, and adapted it, and raised it, and adapted it, over a period of years in order to beat Roger).
 
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