Let me start out with the admission that I really like Federer. His attitude is great for the game of Tennis and doesn't wear on anyone, unlike some champions of the past. His style of play, his technique, and business-like approach to the game are all worthy of emulation. His talent is indisputable as evidenced by his record of success.
I watched the match last Sunday against Nadal. I found few things to criticize on either of the contestants. Here are some observations. Federer used his serve to carry him forward while other areas of his game seemed to flag either from the unrelenting pressure from Nadal or in a few instances, some temporary poor shot selections.
As an example, Nadal attacked Federer's backhand with extreme topspin that regularly caused his opponent to hit the ball at shoulder height. A one handed backhand rarely works well when a player tries to hit drives from that height as Mac, an announcer for the match, also made this observation. Federer was best served by using his slice (chip) backhand to avoid the excessive effort and to limit the bad hits resulting from the attempt to take the high bounder with a drive stroke either as topspin or flat.
Another area of Federer's game that flagged was his forehand low volley. He was letting his wrist drop rather than making the requisite drop of the rear knee. It is likely that he was overconfident or just saving energy. It cost him a number of points and took him to the brink of defeat.
Nadal is a champion as well by any measure. It is hard not to like him with his agressive and physically dominant approach to Tennis.
My main desire after the first set was to see it go to five, which it did. I wanted Federer to gain his position alongside Borg with his 5 consecutive wins at Wimbledon, and now soon enough it will be Nadal's turn.
