Honestly, I believe this is one of the most overrated matches of all time. I don't post often on here, but I felt like after hearing so much constant praise regarding this match I can't ignore it anymore.
Federer's level of play was not consistently high, and he broke down mentally at so many points in this match. In the first and second sets, he simply gave away an important service game, costing him the set. Nadal just constantly pummeled Federer's backhand with his topspin forehand, and Federer broke down yet again. At seemingly every break point opportunity Federer had, he would just make some kind of unforced error, usually on his backhand side. On top of that, Nadal's second serves constantly aimed towards Federer's backhand, and Federer rarely took advantage of the slow serve and would just chip back a ball at average speed.
Nadal didn't play spectacularly, he just did his same old gameplay. High percentage tennis, get every ball in, and wait for Federer to break down. Cross-court topspin forehand to Federer's backhand, rinse, repeat, wait for error. There was very little spectacular about his style of play, except the occasional ridiculous running winner. Federer was not allowed to play at his "Supreme" high level due to Nadal's tactics.
Federer was 1/13 in break point opportunities because he was not able to be aggressive enough on Nadal's serve. Nadal didn't come up with anything amazing, just the constant forehand to backhand rallies that would inevitably end in his favor. Federer played nervously on almost every big point, and Nadal executed his normal gameplan of constantly hitting to Federer backhand. There really wasn't anything spectacular about this match except that it went the distance. Federer was content to stay back and let his weakness be exploited constantly, and could do nothing about it. The overall quality of play in the match was not extremely high. The closeness and hype made it what it was. Most people had an emotional connection to the match in some way, and blew it way out of proportion.
