Fed vs Nadal..could be interesting soon

[markwillplay]

I am of the opinion that Nadal is done with being a top 4 player soon...sorry, just see it that way. But, I am also of the opinion that the player he can beat the easiest in the top 5 or 6 is Fed (not that it is easy of course but he just matches up well). Once Nadal starts to drop in the rankings a bit, it may be interesting that he could get Fed earlier than a final. I don't think you will see another Nadal Fed final (maybe but I don't think it is likely) because it is difficult now for Nadal to get there through some of the other top 10 players...however, he seems to match up best against fed. We may be in for some great matches between them before the finals of tournaments and that will be interesting to me anyway. I don't know why, but Nadal's game just matches up will with Fed's game and I love to see the two of them go at it. If they are in opposite sides of draws, we may not see them play much more.

 

[BigServer1]

It's definitely possible, but it remains to be seen what Nadal's level of play will be.

Let's assume that with Rafa's knee issues, that his movement and abilities are on the level of their Madrid 2009 match. I think if Roger plays well and Nadal plays like that, Federer wins more often than not. Roger's %s would go up on faster HCs.

If Nadal's level is slightly higher, it would be really interesting. If he makes a full recovery and goes back to May 2008-April 2009 levels, Rafa will continue to get the better end of the deal.

I'm kind of excited for this, actually. If Rafa can get better, he has a real shot at Roger in QF/SF matches in upcoming tournaments, including IW and Miami, two surfaces that benefit Nadal slightly more than Federer. If they meet in one of those two tournaments, it could be very, very interesting.

 

[Retaliation]

I personally would love to see them play more, to close the 7-13 gap to shut some people up. Of course, there will only be more excuses.

 

[joeri888]

Why is everyone of the believe that Fed is the easiest player to beat for Nadal? Fed has a tough time against him, but rarely loses easily to Nadal. Its always a huge fight.. Its not like its always a walk in the park for Rafa. Name me some other players that have beaten him 7 times. Rafa will take anyone but Djokovic over Roger during the clay season.

 

[drgnpride]

Why is everyone of the believe that Fed is the easiest player to beat for Nadal? Fed has a tough time against him, but rarely loses easily to Nadal. Its always a huge fight.. Its not like its always a walk in the park for Rafa. Name me some other players that have beaten him 7 times. Rafa will take anyone but Djokovic over Roger during the clay season.

and maybe Soderling.

 

[President]

and maybe Soderling.

I think Del Potro could be a nightmare on clay for him too..

 

[wangs78]

I am of the opinion that Nadal is done with being a top 4 player soon...sorry, just see it that way. But, I am also of the opinion that the player he can beat the easiest in the top 5 or 6 is Fed (not that it is easy of course but he just matches up well). Once Nadal starts to drop in the rankings a bit, it may be interesting that he could get Fed earlier than a final. I don't think you will see another Nadal Fed final (maybe but I don't think it is likely) because it is difficult now for Nadal to get there through some of the other top 10 players...however, he seems to match up best against fed. We may be in for some great matches between them before the finals of tournaments and that will be interesting to me anyway. I don't know why, but Nadal's game just matches up will with Fed's game and I love to see the two of them go at it. If they are in opposite sides of draws, we may not see them play much more.

I agree with you that of the top 5, Fed is the one that Nadal is most likely to beat. Not so much because of the matchup issue but because of the mental issue. Fed is Nadal's b***, sorry to say. He lost Wimby '08 and AO '09 purely because mentally he wasn't strong enough in the key moments. Roger clearly has the upper hand on grass and HC but he'd been basically beaten to submission by Nadal at the FO and other clay court tournaments over the last few years. So, if they do play again, I could see Fed mentally giving Nadal more respect than he deserves, a problem players like Murray and Delpo do not have. Those two mentally have no underlying problem with Nadal, whereas Fed has to overcome the demons. But hopefully, Fed's recent success and Nadal's recent troubles will give Fed confidence to just steamroll Nadal now (which with his talent he should be able to do). But you're right, Nadal has a better chance of defeating Fed than the others.

 

[wangs78]

Why is everyone of the believe that Fed is the easiest player to beat for Nadal? Fed has a tough time against him, but rarely loses easily to Nadal. Its always a huge fight.. Its not like its always a walk in the park for Rafa. Name me some other players that have beaten him 7 times. Rafa will take anyone but Djokovic over Roger during the clay season.

Fed has way more talent and he loses to him because he loses mentally, that's why. In Wimby '08, Roger lost those first two sets because of nerves (he had just been crushed by Nadal at the FO). At AO '09, Roger also had chances early but didn't take them. Have you noticed how Roger gets break points against Nadal but rarely capitalizes on them? And when he does he'll often quickly get broken right back. It's all mental, Roger respects Nadal's game too much because Nadal has beaten him on too many occasions. The mental edge is a HUGE edge in tennis. Look at Roger playing Davydenko this week. He was down a set and almost two breaks, but he knew that Davydenko's level would drop at some point and he was right. His mental edge helped him win. Between Roger and Rafa, it's Rafa who has that edge.

 

[joeri888]

Fed has way more talent and he loses to him because he loses mentally, that's why. In Wimby '08, Roger lost those first two sets because of nerves (he had just been crushed by Nadal at the FO). At AO '09, Roger also had chances early but didn't take them. Have you noticed how Roger gets break points against Nadal but rarely capitalizes on them? And when he does he'll often quickly get broken right back. It's all mental, Roger respects Nadal's game too much because Nadal has beaten him on too many occasions. The mental edge is a HUGE edge in tennis. Look at Roger playing Davydenko this week. He was down a set and almost two breaks, but he knew that Davydenko's level would drop at some point and he was right. His mental edge helped him win. Between Roger and Rafa, it's Rafa who has that edge.

Yeah, I agree.. Rafa has the edge, but still.. Everyone here acts like Rafa just totally dominates Federer, like Roger dominates Roddick or Hewitt you know.. Its total domination on clay, and outside that, Rafa got better while Roger declined, and in the end it was all even, but with clay a surface as well, it was def. Rafa all the way. I agree with all that. But still, I dont see Rafa picking to play Roger over Soderling, or Cilic, or Del Potro, or Davydenko, I really dont see it happening. They always have had such close battles in Rafa's VERY BEST SLAMS. It was epic all the way, and Rafa knows that things might have been different with a little bad luck. he deserved to win, but he never beat Federer down in those AO or wimby matches.

Also, name me an active player who has beaten Nadal more than once on clay since 2005.

 

[namelessone]

Yeah, I agree.. Rafa has the edge, but still.. Everyone here acts like Rafa just totally dominates Federer, like Roger dominates Roddick or Hewitt you know.. Its total domination on clay, and outside that, Rafa got better while Roger declined, and in the end it was all even, but with clay a surface as well, it was def. Rafa all the way. I agree with all that. But still, I dont see Rafa picking to play Roger over Soderling, or Cilic, or Del Potro, or Davydenko, I really dont see it happening. They always have had such close battles in Rafa's VERY BEST SLAMS. It was epic all the way, and Rafa knows that things might have been different with a little bad luck. he deserved to win, but he never beat Federer down in those AO or wimby matches.

Also, name me an active player who has beaten Nadal more than once on clay since 2005.

I like your post and I even argued with zagor about Nadal's "ownage" of Federer. And I am a Nadal fan through and through. Everybody acts as if Nadal straight sets Federer every time and they cannot see the tremendous effort he puts just to stay in the match with the swiss,physically and mentally.It's probably the reason why has gained so much respect in the tennis world,he actually withstood fed's game which is a monumental task. It is true that once they reach a certain point Rafa may have a mental edge over him but some people here act as if Nadal is breezing through Federer when that's not the case at all. Who has 7 wins against Nadal on the tour besides talented young players like djoker? Who has bageled Nadal on clay other than Fed?

Some posters around here view things in black and white and don't see the shades of gray.

 

[bolo]

I hope it happens soon. It's been a while and I am looking forward to it.

 

[Chopin]

Federer still leads Nadal off of clay in head to head (something that people forget). We also have to remember that Nadal avoided playing a prime Federer at the US Open and in the faster hardcourt tournaments while Federer has consistently played a prime Nadal on clay.

 

[Chopin]

I've noticed that since Nadal has slipped, the argument that he's a "better" player than Federer has gone out the window. He's a good match-up against Federer, which is saying a lot, but he's not as good a player as Fed, overall.

 

[namelessone]

I've noticed that since Nadal has slipped, the argument that he's a "better" player than Federer has gone out the window. He's a good match-up against Federer, which is saying a lot, but he's not as good a player as Fed, overall.

This has never been a issue with people who have a brain. Even Nadal said that Federer was better than him,when he was nr.1 and when he was nr.2. Even Toni said,when Nadal was nr.1,that Rafa is nr.1 right now in the rankings but Roger Federer is the nr.1 tennis player.

 

[aprilfool]

If there is a "mental issue", then meeting Rafa in anything but a final could neutralize it.

 

[djokovicgonzalez2010]

Year-end top 20:
1. Novak Djokovic (uso,fo)
2. Roger Federer (wimby)
3. Andy Murray (ao)
4. Nikolay Davydenko
5. Juan Martin del Potro
6. Marin Cilic
7. Robin Soderling
8. Rafael Nadal
9. Jo-wilfred Tsonga
10. Andy Roddick
11. Fernando Gonzalez
12. Radek Stepanek
13. Mikhail Youzhny
14. Lleyton Hewitt
15. Marcos Baghdatis
16. Tommy Haas
17. Tomas Berdych
`8. Juan Carlos Ferrero
19. Janko Tipsarevic (wild one)
20. David Ferrer
Save it.

 

[CMM]

Year-end top 20:
1. Novak Djokovic (uso,fo)
2. Roger Federer (wimby)
3. Andy Murray (ao)
4. Nikolay Davydenko
5. Juan Martin del Potro
6. Marin Cilic
7. Robin Soderling
8. Rafael Nadal