Federer Discovers Nadal Blueprint

Brad Properjohn 26 May 26, 2007

World number 1 Roger Federer beating Rafael Nadal 2/6 6/2 6/0 won the 2007th German Open.  In the process Federer broke an 81 game winning streak on clay that has seen Nadal win 13 ATP tour events in a row.  The win has also puffed the winds of optimism into the Federer mainsail 2 weeks out from the French Open. 

Federer, the best player in the world for the last 3 years was able to turn around a frustrating first set and march away with the money with an emphatic kicking in the second and third sets.  Nadal in a post match interview said that he wasn’t upset with the loss having lost only one match to the best player in the world.  What else could he say? 

In winning Federer seemed to almost “jag” the blueprint to destroying Nadal’s game out of a bad case of “here we go again”.  Federer frustrated with the way the match was heading (a set down), and that he knew how to beat Nadal but simply could not execute the plan or maintain it, decided to tag a couple of big forehands from the base line and bingo, a breakthrough. 

Also, quite bizarrely it would appear that Federer (against Nadal on clay) is better off serving poorly.  If Federer serves at around 50% first serves in he actually plays better because his match plan becomes less complicated, options are minimized, he is more likely to construct better points and to come in on more balanced approach shots. 

In the past Federer (against Nadal) looked like he was pressuring himself to finish the points quickly knocking off short returns of serve without right winners which seems to work with every player in the world except Nadal.  Nadal has so much strength and incredible agility out on the wings that he is able to successfully counter punch the Federer attacks. 

Federer now forced to stay back on second serves was in effect better balanced post serve.  He then lifted the speed of his next shot to a level above his opponent comfort zone forcing Nadal to hit short, short enough for Federer to get even more purchase on successive shots. Federer’s able to hit flatter and harder than Nadal and this allowed him to get beyond his opponents awesome retrieval game. 

Of course the best situation for Federer is to serve big and play well.  It’s a pity things aren’t always that simple as the dynamic in this match clearly showed.  So what can the social player take away from this result? 

·        Keep your game plan as simple as possible.

·        There is no “easy way out” on the dirt, that’s the biggest lesson of all.  If you walk out on the clay its long hall stuff or its defeat.

·        Nadal serving at near 80% first serves in still lost.  Don’t push your serve in, use it to it’s full potential.

·        Play with conviction, formulate a plan and follow it.

·        Identify your game so you are able to weather an attack with clear understanding of your parameters, minimizing the risk of an irrational response.

·        Clay courts magnify weaknesses in your game, so be disciplined and look for your opponent’s weaknesses if possible before you get on court.  Find ways to mask your weaknesses in the warm up. 

So who will win Paris? Before Hamburg Federer had a string of bad tournaments so his aura going into the French will not have the same “bite”. Now the battle weary Nadal has to show up in Paris with energy reserves depleted from, well, winning all the time on the toughest surface there is. If these two meet in Paris, it will have to be in the Final and then the smart money will be on Federer.  Better still it seems he might have found the secret to beating the young Spaniard on clay.