The difference is that Nadal is in the prime of his career while Federer is at the twilight of his career and could probably care less about who beats him now adays. He plays to play, because he enjoys the game. Federer has seemed to accept that although he can sneak in a slam here and there if he gets the right draws, he is no longer the Federer of old.
That definitely changes the way your outlook on the game and your opponents. Nadal is still very, very, very close to the peak of his career. If he has fallen off any, it is only very slight; the only guy who has been able to do any damage to Nadal has been Djokovic anyways who is beating the rest of the tour along with Nadal. That plays a totally significant different role on how you view your opponent; it is very similar to how Nadal was beating Federer while Fed was in his prime.
Basically, Federer knows he's not a consistent contender when he steps out onto the court against the big guns these days. He'll get a few of his wins simply because he's crafty now due to age, and still has the weapons to do so. However, he knows he's not going to be rolling off 41 match win streaks anymore.
Nadal KNOWS he is a top 2 contender for every tournament still (just look at from IW to Rome). The only person that can beat him is Novak. That definitely weighs on Nadal though when Novak continues to defeat him time and time again; it is probably even more pressure on Nadal considering Nadal has actually never been in this position before.
...Roger really had no idea of the storm that had arrived did he? This attitude ultimately paid off at RG, since he beat Novak and ended his streak, but other than that, not a good look. I mean, some of the stuff he is saying is true but I don't think you're supposed to say it out aloud. Djokovic fans, thoughts?
