Wimbledon final 2008

I think its 50-50 if Nadal 2008 played against Federer in his 2007 form Arguments can be made for both in this case. But I would be a lot more confident in 2006 Federer beating any version of Nadal on grass.
 
robthai said:
so you also agree that 2007 Nadal would have beaten Federer in that 2008 Wimbledon final? I think Feds level was roughly the same as in 2007 but not as confident which subsequently cost him those first 2 sets. yes, Nadal was serving better in 2008 but I recall Federer had many break opportunities in those first 2 sets but squandered them all. I also think he really started to struggle returning Nadals serve once it started getting darker. I wonder how that match would have played out had they installed the roof pre 2008. I also forgot to mention Fed was bailed out by the rain delays. It helped him regroup in the 3rd and 4th sets. Nadal really should have won that in 4.
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Fed broke in the second set but RAFA broke back. Had Fed been mentally there, RAFA would have been gone back to fishing in Mallorca in 4 sets.
 
Im(moral) Winner said:
Fed broke in the second set but RAFA broke back. Had Fed been mentally there, RAFA would have been gone back to fishing in Mallorca in 4 sets.
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Federer was 4-1 in the second set....loses in 6-4, he surrendered back to back serves quite meekly. I clearly remember the look on Nadal's face at the change of ends, when he is up 2-0 sets, he couldn't believe it. Anyone gets a chance to watch that, take a look at Nadal's reaction, when he looks towards the box and to Toni...almost in disbelief that he would have Federer down 2-0.
 
kevaninho said:
But Federers mindset was perfectly fine for W 08.
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Not at all
No ATG can mentally recover from that 6-1 6-3 6-0 humiliation within 4 weeks
Federer had his mental block against rafa from rome 2006 onwards and if he had today's mentality and strategy he would have never allowed rafa to dominate him even on clay....
Remember that even in RG2011, federer could have win the match as he was in complete command but his mental demons pegged him back...
He was mentally very fragile....
If not for mental demons, federer would have guranteedly crushed rafa in wimby08, aussie09 and rg11...
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
Not at all
No ATG can mentally recover from that 6-1 6-3 6-0 humiliation within 4 weeks
Federer had his mental block against rafa from rome 2006 onwards and if he had today's mentality and strategy he would have never allowed rafa to dominate him even on clay....
Remember that even in RG2011, federer could have win the match as he was in complete command but his mental demons pegged him back...
He was mentally very fragile....
If not for mental demons, federer would have guranteedly crushed rafa in wimby08, aussie09 and rg11...
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I disagree respectfully.
I think Federer was licking his lips at getting revenge on Rafa after that RG defeat. The same as he had done the previous years.
He knew grass was a totally different obstacle for Nadal, and I refuse to believe that he didn't fancy himself to beat Rafa in 08.
 
kevaninho said:
I disagree respectfully.
I think Federer was licking his lips at getting revenge on Rafa after that RG defeat. The same as he had done the previous years.
He knew grass was a totally different obstacle for Nadal, and I refuse to believe that he didn't fancy himself to beat Rafa in 08.
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Okay you keep that
Btw I have watched all of those matches live so I think I can analyze it better..
In fact, I have been watching everything tennis on TV from 96 onwards
 
Im(moral) Winner said:
Another GOAT match that the """GOAT""" lost. What is he 2-5000 in GOAT matches?
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Read it and weep...
tumblr_nklx4gNZCm1qz8q0ho1_1280.gif
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
The real tennis was being played in mind, where at that time; federer was totally broken and destroyed. Had he developed this 2017 mentality and strategy against nadal, I am sure that he would have annihilated nadal on wimby2008 final after getting annihilation from bull in RG08 final,
2017 fed's mentality + 2003-09 fed's form is something which would be the unstoppable beast and even for bull on clay
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6-1, 6-3, 6-0 at RG 2008. what a brutal beatdown in a slam final.
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
Yes it was..
Ill federer vs peak rafa but still fedfans accept the defeat unlike the VB rafa devotees who find new arguments like injury, gassing out, not in form etc for every single loss of rafa
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LOL there is so much excuse making for Federer's 08 loss and 09 AO on here. Mono, the evil bull pirate accruing some mental edge etc. etc. etc. You guys love to knock Nadal fans for moral wins but the truth is the Fed fans do the same exact thing all the damn time.
 
MugOpponent said:
LOL there is so much excuse making for Federer's 08 loss and 09 AO on here. Mono, the evil bull pirate accruing some mental edge etc. etc. etc. You guys love to knock Nadal fans for moral wins but the truth is the Fed fans do the same exact thing all the damn time.
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Difference is that those are true reasons and are given only for 2-4 specific matches whereas VB reasons?? We know them for every single loss of rafael nadal
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
Difference is that those are true reasons and are given only for 2-4 specific matches whereas VB reasons?? We know them for every single loss of rafael nadal
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Frankly the mono excuse is pretty lame and I can only imagine what would be said if the roles were reversed. The Fed hadn't dropped a set before the 2008 W final. The bookmakers had him as the favorite. He was fine.

And the evil pirate gaining a mental edge is on Federer as well.

The truth is Federer lost to a better player and it is quite miraculous it was even close. Proceed with the excuses.
 
robthai said:
Im a Fed fan and I agree. Nadal should have won in 4.
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I personally think he should have won in three. He let Federer off the hook massively mid way through that match, when it looked to be routine.
 
MugOpponent said:
Frankly the mono excuse is pretty lame and I can only imagine what would be said if the roles were reversed. The Fed hadn't dropped a set before the 2008 W final. The bookmakers had him as the favorite. He was fine.

And the evil pirate gaining a mental edge is on Federer as well.

The truth is Federer lost to a better player and it is quite miraculous it was even close. Proceed with the excuses.
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The mono excuse is not an excuse. It's legit. It affected his whole season. What a dumbfuck. We can even give you the excuse about Federer's knee being bummed last 2016 but you still would not believe it. LOL.
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
The real tennis was being played in mind, where at that time; federer was totally broken and destroyed. Had he developed this 2017 mentality and strategy against nadal, I am sure that he would have annihilated nadal on wimby2008 final after getting annihilation from bull in RG08 final,
2017 fed's mentality + 2003-09 fed's form is something which would be the unstoppable beast and even for bull on clay
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Fed only loses if he is:

  • Sick
  • Old
  • Injured
  • Lacking 2017 mentality



This list keeps getting longer and longer
 
Fed's was more impressive, just because of the huge amount of pressure involved. To pull off such a shot when facing a CP was quite something.
 
I wonder what has changed in Nadal's grass game that he can't contend for the Wimbledon titles as he used to. 2011 was the last time he made a final.
 
Mike Sams said:
I wonder what has changed in Nadal's grass game that he can't contend for the Wimbledon titles as he used to. 2011 was the last time he made a final.
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Ain't some grand mistery, he lost a step. That's all it takes to go from winning all those thrillers in the 1st week (when the grass is very fast) to losing them.

Almost got over it last year thanks to his improved serving (2017 was on the whole one of Nadal's best seasons serving wise) but still ended up losing a close one to Muller.
 
To get back on topic, I think Fed's shot was better. Don't get me wrong, that Nadal forehand up the line was EPIC, but there was a ton more pressure on Fed. Like it has already been mentioned here, Fed was championship point down, it was his weaker wing, and it was a play that Nadal had success with time and time again. The ability to come up with that shot under that amount of pressure was unbelievable! I remember flying off of my sofa when he hit that shot! I really couldn't believe it! Then again, I couldn't believe Nadal hit that forehand to set up match point. Both were epic shots, but Fed's was slightly better.
 
Im(moral) Winner said:
There's also the 2005 AO SF with Safin and Rome 2006 final for instance. Nobody really calls 2017 final a "goat" quality match but you can throw the 2007/2009 Wimbledon in "goat" match pile, even though everyone jerks off to the 2008 final don't reference to those two much.
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Completely flawed logic

Nadal will take 5 hours to beat a random mug quite often hence so many "epic matches". Fed makes many matches look easy so doesnt have these epic encounters while nadal will make a 2R match v mueller look "epic" and also because he is so inconsistent getting to finals etc that he builds up hype when he finally does

Nadal lost the biggest single most at stake match of the past 20 years by losing AO 2017. He also screwrd up AO against wawrinka and AO 12 which he called the GOAT match as well as other matches e.g. wimb 06 07 and countless mug losses. He lost the chance to win WTF, prevent djokovic getting 7 consecutive wins hence making nadal the biggest victim of a losing streak/domination by another big 4 guy, faiked to stop wawrinka becoming a slam champion

Next every grand slam match is a huge match. Nadal losing 2-1 h2h v muller at wimbeldon or 2-0 to dustin brown are huge matches. The guy with 20 slams has the most epic matches under his belt.
 
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Im(moral) Winner said:
They go up partly because of Fed's lose but had Fed won the 2005 AO SF it would still have been agreed upon as a "goat" match by all objective observants. I already said that W 2009 final can be considered as a goat match. AO 2012 final is considered as a "goat" match, and yes had Novak won the RG SF it also would/could have been considered a "goat" match.

RAFA's "GOAT" bo5 matches are generally considered Rome 2005-2006 finals, Wimbledon 2007*(like I said before fans kinda forget about this and 2009 final while wanking over the 2008 final mostly due to changing of the guard)-2008 finals, AO 2009 SF + F, 2012 F and FO 2013 SF so basically he's 6-3. That's why he's epic as MichaelNadal says.
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while wanking over the 2008 final. :D:D:D
 
zagor said:
Ain't some grand mistery, he lost a step. That's all it takes to go from winning all those thrillers in the 1st week (when the grass is very fast) to losing them.

Almost got over it last year thanks to his improved serving (2017 was on the whole one of Nadal's best seasons serving wise) but still ended up losing a close one to Muller.
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Plus he got less lucky. Early mugs don't choke like they used to.
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
Okay you keep that
Btw I have watched all of those matches live so I think I can analyze it better..
In fact, I have been watching everything tennis on TV from 96 onwards
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That's ok, as I watched it live too. Doesn't mean I know better than someone else. It was clear to see, Federer was cruising at W 08 , and Nadal just took it out of his hands.
No other player on the planet was stopping Federer in that match.
A player of his skill doesn't lack confidence on his favourite surface, unless the opponent makes him.
Much the same as an out of sorts Nadal would've been confident still against Soderling in 09 RG, until Robin took the match away from him.
 
HetTheGreaterer said:
Okay you keep that
Btw I have watched all of those matches live so I think I can analyze it better..
In fact, I have been watching everything tennis on TV from 96 onwards
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And for the record, you've watched every tennis match even outwith the slams on TV for 20 years?
Do you not have a job?
 
DanG7 said:
What was the better shot?
Nadal forehand down the line to set up match point 4th set?
Federer backhand down the line to save match point?

I was 15 years old when I witnessed this match. I'm now 25. I fell in love with Fed on this day even though he lost. Nadal was a different beast this day. Federer made him work so hard for this victory though. So resilient. That is the definition of a champion.

My vote for best shot though has to be backhand down the line to save match point. (Probably a little bit bias). These two points kind of defines the rivalry for me. Nadal forehand was so physical and powerful. But it's Rafa signature shot now. 'banana shot. Nothing was stopping him making that shot. The Fed backhand was genius. Slice backhand to pull Nadal in... nadal comes back at the backhand...whip..down the line. Genius.

Twin Goats.
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Federer's pass was IMO his greatest shot ever
Nadal's shot was awesome, but he didn't have the intense pressure behind him that Federer did.
That was the first Wimbledon I ever watched. I had never seen a match close to this quality before and frankly expected a straight set final, especially after seeing Federer get routed by Djokovic at the AO and Nadal at RG. I was completely blown away by the drama and the twists and turns this match took.
 
kevaninho said:
And for the record, you've watched every tennis match even outwith the slams on TV for 20 years?
Do you not have a job?
Click to expand...
I have my own business and by saying that I have watched every single tennis related things, I mean that I have watched all the matches of top players at slams and QF-onwards at masters....
 
King No1e said:
Federer's pass was IMO his greatest shot ever
Nadal's shot was awesome, but he didn't have the intense pressure behind him that Federer did.
That was the first Wimbledon I ever watched. I had never seen a match close to this quality before and frankly expected a straight set final, especially after seeing Federer get routed by Djokovic at the AO and Nadal at RG. I was completely blown away by the drama and the twists and turns this match took.
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Omg please. Federer hits a better shot than that every match.
 
Fed's shot was better, Rafa has burnt Fed with that FH pass since their rivalry started, same can't be said about Fed with his BH pass...

Also, let's not forget about Fed potentially breaking the record for consecutive W titles, surely that was a factor in his somewhat pressured performance, and it was quite windy that day, which would of aided a more conservative approach, and negated Fed's attacking style a bit.
 
Fed's shot was better, Rafa has burnt Fed with that FH pass since their rivalry started, same can't be said about Fed with his BH pass...

Also, let's not forget about Fed potentially breaking the record for consecutive W titles, surely that was a factor in his somewhat pressured performance, and it was quite windy that day, which would aid a more conservative approach, and negate Fed's attacking style.
 
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