What does Nadal need to do to beat the resurgent Federer in the semi final?

[Backspin1183]

Federer's aggressive net play troubled Tsonga and Murray. They weren't allowed much time to play their usual game from the baseline.

IMO Rafa needs to trap Roger on the baseline and make him defend as much as possible. Fed these days loses confidence when he's made to defend more and not alowed to come to the net.

So Rafa, keep Fed on the baseline and bombard his "beautiful" backhand with your monstrous fearhand.

What do you think he should do?

 

[rofaol nodol]

Show up. Pick his butt.

 

[Backspin1183]

Show up. Pick his butt.

I'm sure he's not allowed to pick Roger's butt. Anything else?

 

[sbengte]

Show up. Pick his butt.

This.

/thread.

 

[MichaelNadal]

He's just going to have to hit deep, change directions with his FH well and keep the topspin kicking. Unless Federer wins the first 2 sets, he's going to be in trouble. Rafa wears his backhand down over the course of a match pretty well.

 

[Backspin1183]

This.

/thread.

Is Federer such a pathetic player that his opponent only need show up? Show some respect for the 17 GS winner.

 

[Backspin1183]

He's just going to have to hit deep, change directions with his FH well and keep the topspin kicking. Unless Federer wins the first 2 sets, he's going to be in trouble. Rafa wears his backhand down over the course of a match pretty well.

Agreed. Don't allow that Swiss come to the net with confidence. Hit deep, return deep, have long rallies. Force errors out of those "beautiful" hands.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

He just needs to play his usual game.

 

[TennisandMusic]

Play his best. If he does, he wins.

If not, Federer has a great chance at winning.

 

[Messarger]

To add to what some have said: Serve well.

If you can put some spin and slice on the serve, it makes it that much harder for Fed to chip and charge. Which means he is forced to stay on the baseline and Nadal can then use his favourite tactic to open up the court. But considering that his serve has been crap, I think Federer is going to get many chances to come to the net.

 

[Backspin1183]

To add to what some have said: Serve well.

If you can put some spin and slice on the serve, it makes it that much harder for Fed to chip and charge. Which means he is forced to stay on the baseline and Nadal can then use his favourite tactic to open up the court. But considering that his serve has been crap, I think Federer is going to get many chances to come to the net.

Yes, very important to serve well.

 

[helloworld]

He just needs to show up and play his usual gam. Federer is no trouble for Nadal.

 

[Chanwan]

Are Nadal fans actually worried about this match or are you just having fun with it?

Cause I can't help but find it extremely ironic how the same Nadal fans, who's spend the last couple of years - and certainly the last couple of months - saying that Federer has zero chance of ever defeating Nadal again anywhere and certainly not in a slam, that Nadal owns Fed and has done so since forever - now almost has Federer as the favorite.
I guess they take after their master. 'Me favorite? No, I must play a perfect match to have a small chance to stay competitive, no?'

And btw - the blisters will be a non-issue (as he's training without tape). So will the rain apparently

Nadal is the huge favorite to win. His game is the perfect antidote to Fed's

 

[joeri888]

Moonball to the backhand. Not retire.

 

[Backspin1183]

Moonball to the backhand. Not retire.

I've not seen many Challengers players being successful against Federer. So I don't know if moonballing to the backhand is enough. If Federer was really that pathetic, I'd mop the floor with him on every surface.

 

[tennis_hack]

He's just going to have to hit deep, change directions with his FH well and keep the topspin kicking. Unless Federer wins the first 2 sets, he's going to be in trouble. Rafa wears his backhand down over the course of a match pretty well.

HAHAHA, wtf you smoking - the last thing Nadal needs to do is change directions with his forehand. It should go deep, heavy and crosscourt 100% of the time.

Nadal needs to serve to the backhand, to set up crosscourt forehands to the Federer backhand. If Nadal himself somehow finds himself hitting a backhand, it needs to a high, lofted shot down the line to Federer's backhand, again setting up that lefty forehand to righty backhand exchange.

When Nadal gets a short ball he should approach high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and also volley it high and heavy to the Federer backhand.

If attempting a drop-shot, these need to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and if attempting a low slice - this needs to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand.

However, I do not foresee that Nadal himself will need to hit more than 2 backhands over the course of the match, whereas Federer will not be allowed to hit more than 5 forehands.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Are Nadal fans actually worried about this match or are you just having fun with it?

Cause I can't help but find it extremely ironic how the same Nadal fans, who's spend the last couple of years - and certainly the last couple of months - saying that Federer has zero chance of ever defeating Nadal again anywhere and certainly not in a slam, that Nadal owns Fed and has done so since forever - now almost has Federer as the favorite.
I guess they take after their master. 'Me favorite? No, I must play a perfect match to have a small chance to stay competitive, no?'

And btw - the blisters will be a non-issue (as he's training without tape). So will the rain apparently

Nadal is the huge favorite to win. His game is the perfect antidote to Fed's

Unlike some Federer fans who are arrogant, Nadal's fans are practical and realistic. Federer is one of the greatest player that has ever played tennis and has beaten Nadal in many big matches. As such, the probability of Fed beating Rafa is high. Federer > Rosol, no.

We are not assuming that Nadal will beat Fed just because of 22-10. We are realistic enough that we know that Anything can happen. We'll see, no.

 

[Chanwan]

Unlike some Federer fans who are arrogant, Nadal's fans are practical and realistic.

We are not assuming that Nadal will beat Fed just because of 22-10. We are realistic enough that we know that Anything can happen. We'll see, no.

Do you deny that a good number of Nadal fans on this board have said Federer will never beat Nadal again - and certainly not in a slam? That Nadal owns Fed - always has, always will.
Etc.

 

[TheTruth]

Unlike some Federer fans who are arrogant, Nadal's fans are practical and realistic. Federer is one of the greatest player that has ever played tennis and has beaten Nadal in many big matches. As such, the probability of Fed beating Rafa is high. Federer > Rosol, no.

We are not assuming that Nadal will beat Fed just because of 22-10. We are realistic enough that we know that Anything can happen. We'll see, no.

Great post.

We have respect for Fed's game.

 

[Chanwan]

HAHAHA, wtf you smoking - the last thing Nadal needs to do is change directions with his forehand. It should go deep, heavy and crosscourt 100% of the time.

Nadal needs to serve to the backhand, to set up crosscourt forehands to the Federer backhand. If Nadal himself somehow finds himself hitting a backhand, it needs to a high, lofted shot down the line to Federer's backhand, again setting up that lefty forehand to righty backhand exchange.

When Nadal gets a short ball he should approach high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and also volley it high and heavy to the Federer backhand.

If attempting a drop-shot, these need to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and if attempting a low slice - this needs to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand.

However, I do not foresee that Nadal himself will need to hit more than 2 backhands over the course of the match, whereas Federer will not be allowed to hit more than 5 forehands.

You're more or less correct. This is the tactic by Rafa as emphasized in RAFA.
However, he does use the inside-out forehand quite a bit too after hitting 5-10 shots to Federer's backhand side, where Fed will then leave more and more of the deuce-side open.

 

[NADALRECORD]

Nadal needs to do nothing, just show up and he'll win. Nadal can serve 7 double faults, it won't make a difference. Federer has never had the skills to beat Nadal at the slams, apart from when Nadal was green at Wimbledon. This is a dream semi-final opponent for Nadal. This is a nightmare semi-final opponent for Federer. Federer will be happy just to take a set and not be embarrassed.

 

[MichaelNadal]

HAHAHA, wtf you smoking - the last thing Nadal needs to do is change directions with his forehand. It should go deep, heavy and crosscourt 100% of the time.

Nadal needs to serve to the backhand, to set up crosscourt forehands to the Federer backhand. If Nadal himself somehow finds himself hitting a backhand, it needs to a high, lofted shot down the line to Federer's backhand, again setting up that lefty forehand to righty backhand exchange.

When Nadal gets a short ball he should approach high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and also volley it high and heavy to the Federer backhand.

If attempting a drop-shot, these need to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand, and if attempting a low slice - this needs to be high and heavy to the Federer backhand.


However, I do not foresee that Nadal himself will need to hit more than 2 backhands over the course of the match, whereas Federer will not be allowed to hit more than 5 forehands.

I'm smoking great stuff actually, thanks for asking. :lol: You're crazy if you don't think Rafa's I/O and DTL fh aren't needed tonight. Yes the CC is the bread and butter but when Federer is confident and hitting his backhand cc well like this tournament, he can really rush Rafa's FH side and cause Rafa to drop the ball short. Rafa wins when he's able to spin balls high to the Federer backhand and then change directions or have the freedom to go DTL.

Nadal needs to do nothing, just show up and he'll win. Nadal can serve 7 double faults, it won't make a difference. Federer has never had the skills to beat Nadal at the slams, apart from when Nadal was green at Wimbledon. This is a dream semi-final opponent for Nadal. This is a nightmare semi-final opponent for Federer. Federer will be happy just to take a set and not be embarrassed.

Can you at least try to be objective?

 

[Towser83]

Show up. lol.

 

[Ralph]

Play his best. If he does, he wins.

If not, Federer has a great chance at winning.

Not even his best.

 

[tennis_hack]

Nadal needs to make sure he puts in between 10-20% effort.

Should take this match as a decent practice for the final so just be sure not to pull anything or make himself too tired.

 

[sam_p]

Do you deny that a good number of Nadal fans on this board have said Federer will never beat Nadal again - and certainly not in a slam? That Nadal owns Fed - always has, always will.
Etc.

I for one am much more nervous about the result when Djoko plays Nadal because when they both play well the result is unpredictable. When Nadal plays well against Fed he always wins, the nervousness in this case has to do with a worry that Nadal won't play well for a trivial reason, like the need to play with tape on his palm.

 

[Bender]

First off, what is it that Federer is doing different (read: 'different', doesn't translate to simply playing 'better than usual')?

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Federer will have a very few opportunites to break because Rafa will serve on his backhand 90% of the time.

Also don't forget the WTF match, Roger was constantly coming to the net in the second set and we all know how it ended...

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Show up. lol.

hahah :lol: :lol:

 

[NatF]

If Nadal can excecute his usual game plan he will win. If Fedberg can prevent Nadal from doing this tactically then maybe it's 50/50 based on Nadal's form and their history.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

First off, what is it that Federer is doing different (read: 'different', doesn't translate to simply playing 'better than usual')?

That's actually a very good question.