Le Big Match - Nadal v Federer

First topic message reminder :

After a breathtaking day of semi finals, we have our two men to compete in the final.

Who wins?

Yes but the point socal is that we know Nadal can serve as fast as Fed if he wants...but he reads the conditions and opponent and serves appropriately. Nadal is probably the most adaptive player on the circuit.

Cheers lydian, Fed has been well in this match but just as Andy Murray did, lost the key points.

Yep seems so eirebilly, you also feel that Nadal is able to go to a higher gear than Federer when needed in the match...but the match is going through a lull bit at the moment, and who knows who might break first now.

set times are remarkably close to the Murray match - 62mins set 1, 72 mins set 2 - i think murray match was 62/73

[quote="lydian"]Yes but the point socal is that we know Nadal can serve as fast as Fed if he wants...but he reads the conditions and opponent and serves appropriately. Nadal is probably the most adaptive player on the circuit.[/quote

I agree to an extent those slow Nadal serves have a lot of spin and if you just spin it to Fed's backhand on the second serve you are pretty safe in that he won't be able to crunch is with his single hander. You throw those second serves at Novak and he puts them right back in your grill 20 kph harder than you hit it. But again like you say Nadal knows his opponent and knows where and how to serve him.

On balance,to set 2 who has caused Nadal more trouble out of Murray and Federer?

Considering all those breaks by Murray, i'd say its very close

Agree Nole is best returner on tour at moment and adds pressure to the server - more so than Fed does.

You feel Nadal will be after Fed this service game...

don't know what Fed was doing with that ultra-cute drop shot

Tom, both of them aren't that close on clay in my opinion.

Now it loks over with Nadal breaking.

Wow - Fed got royally broken there, he's too patchy, and you just sensed Nadal wnats to get this finished.

Does anyone know where the break stats are for 2011 - I know Nadal has had the best % in previously years, surely Djoko is top this year?

eirebilly wrote:Now it loks over with Nadal breaking.

Still have to say Fed isn't out of it

oh and now Nadal decides to go AWOL

Well i'll be.......

Tom Djokovic lead the ATP in 2010 and is leading again in 2011, at a whopping 43 percent, that is right he is breaking serve nearly half the time. Rafa is up there but he is third behind murray.

eirebilly wrote:Well i'll be.......

Problem is Roger now needs to hold serve.

A HUGE ask against this opponent.

Tom_____ wrote:Does anyone know where the break stats are for 2011 - I know Nadal has had the best % in previously years, surely Djoko is top this year?

Break points won stats for the event...first number is matches played, second is number won

1 R.Nadal ESP 6 39
1 A.Murray GBR 6 39
3 Ji.Chela ARG 5 35
4 R.Federer SUI 6 28
4 F.Fognini ITA 5 28
6 A.Falla COL 4 27
7 G.Monfils FRA 5 26
8 A.Montanes ESP 4 24
8 R.Soderling SWE 5 24
8 V.Troicki SRB 4 24
11 D.Ferrer ESP 4 23
12 N.Djokovic SRB 6 22
13 G.Simon FRA 4 21
14 A.Veic CRO 3 17
15 R.Gasquet FRA 4 16
15 S.Wawrinka SUI 4 16
15 L.Rosol CZE 3 16
18 A.Dolgopolov UKR 3 15
18 J.Tipsarevic SRB 3 15
18 G.Garcia-Lopez ESP 3 15

Nadal is starting to look a little tight to me as the finish line potentially gets nearer

Come on Roger

socal1976 wrote:Tom Djokovic lead the ATP in 2010 and is leading again in 2011, at a whopping 43 percent, that is right he is breaking serve nearly half the time. Rafa is up there but he is third behind murray.

do you have a link to these stats social?

Ok...expect a big push from Nadal on Fed's next service game

Tom just go to ATP world tour.com no spaces. Look at the Ricoh match stats under returns.

what's the score guys?

im not watching just been told to make sure you behave

im sure you do anyway

Some Stats:

..................................Federer.....Nadal
Winners......................54..............32
Unforced Errors..........46..............22

Points won
Nadal 114
Federer 113

Three break points for Federer

Hello, what have we got here then......

Can Federer serve the set out? He had a chance in the first set.

Nadal seems really tight at the moment...and Federer the opposite.

There you go, roger is not capitulating Nadal is just better on this surface.

I AM AWESOME wrote:ALLEZ FED! Got a break now COME ON! Lets get a set off this moonballer. lol.

no calling people moonballers it will be deleted

That down the line backhand at 15-0 is a demonstration of why I think Federer's backhand is the most beautiful in the game!

Well well well. We have a match. Come on Feds. Well done.

nobody likes rafa at RG

Federer has to be constantly brilliant to overcome Nadal's clay court game.

wow wrote:nobody likes rafa at RG

because they love their tennis and want it to go 5 sets

If Rafa holds here he will break in the next game.

Nadal showing some guts there.

Federer is perhaps showing more "guts" considering the stats (playing a riskier game):

Winners
Federer 61
Nadal 36

Unforced Errors
Federer 47
Nadal 26

Big hold there for Federer.

Come on Roger get this set.

Nore Staat wrote:Federer is perhaps showing more "guts" considering the stats (playing a riskier game):

Winners
Federer 61
Nadal 36

Unforced Errors
Federer 47
Nadal 26

Or is Rafa playing clever tennis?

Almost everytime fed goes to the slice backhand Nadal brutalizes him.

Rafa will get him in this service game I am sorry to say.

"Or is Rafa playing clever tennis?"


Rafa has a better clay court game ... (Borg, Kuerten, Nadal), but certainly he is also smart.
Looks like Federer is about to drop serve.

Wow, what have we here...

What a time to bring up your first double fault.

Whenever Federer loses the first point of his service game, he always goes on to be broken, usually to love it seems...

Very nice effort from Roger but Rafa is just too good for Fed on this surface. Not a good matchup for fed.