Nadal Maintains Dominance
This story line is well worn and predictable where Nadal dominates Federer with consistency and a relentless ground game. The problem always comes with that high bounding Nadal attack against the Federer backhand. Federer also uses the topspin backhand much more than necessary. If he were to develop a more aggressive slice backhand that is much less vulnerable to the height range problems of a topspin drive backhand he would also keep the ball lower than Rafa prefers. Add to this the obvious reality that Federer is a half a step slower than in the past and this makes it more difficult for Fed to unleash his devastating inside out forehand. It puts more pressure on this once dominating shot Fed had to punish a backhand attacker and it shows in his increasing error rate.
Fed as a Serve and Volley, Chip and Charge Player
The bright spot of this match for Fed was his serve and volley results and the problems that it caused for Rafa who is used to the open airspace at the net for his high margin ground game. Fed would also be better positioned for serve and volley attacks by serving into Rafa's body much more often rather than giving him angles to pass with. Fed did best when on the attack and coming to the net.
Sampras thinks serve and volley would still work today.
Fed Switches Rackets
He needed to do it for a long time but it is hard to change while competing. Fed has gone from a 90 sq. inch frame to a 98 and the difference appears to be in his serve and return. He may be launching more balls as well when he mistimes a groundstroke. I didn't see any loss of control on his volleys. I hope this gives him enough of an improvement to stay competitive.
The Balance of Major Wins is Closing
It is simply obvious that Rafa is the better player over Fed in their match-ups whether their results against others are equal or even lean for now to Fed. The scale must soon tip for Rafa to meet Fed's winning position in tennis history if he wins this tournament and the threat of total major wins will loom into view. Already Rafa is among the greats of tennis so our benefit is to be able to see the best players of any tennis era on the court right now.
Enjoy This Time As a Tennis Fan
Laver still looms as the unique one among all the others for his double grand slam record. Budge has his one grand slam which though it is never discussed puts him in that company of most complete players as well. Still, we now have Federer with his 17 major wins still on the court while Rafa is close behind now. For tennis players this is a golden era for watching some of the best tennis ever played.
