Nadal pulls ahead
By adding the first major grand prix tournament at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells right after his Australian Open win, Rafael Nadal has pulled further away from Roger Federer. This time there was no Federer in the final but Andy Murray. The final though, showed that if Murray is finally almost at par with the top two, Nadal is by far the more adaptable, tactically sound player.
This tournament exposes a growing chink in Federer's earlier impregnable armoury of tennis skills. The backhand unravels under stress. Relentless pressure on Federer's backhand coupled with disciplined shot making helped Murray win 6-1 in the 3rd with Federer as good as giving up. Troubled times indeed for Roger but more mental than physical.
Under normal conditions, the final would have been a tough to predict match. In fact, given Murray's recent wins over both Federer and Nadal, he would have had a slight edge. But he showed an inability to adjust to unfavourable, windy conditions and succumbed easily 6-2, 6-1. This tournament gives the winner 1000 points and Nadal extends his lead further from Federer even as Murray closes in on world number three Novak Djokovic.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tennis - Why Nadal troubles Federer
For Roger Federer fans it has become more and more common to see their star falter against the irrepressible Spaniard, Rafael Nadal.
This though is not a sudden occurrance. Various factors have led to this situation.
Before Nadal, Federer had no serious competition
Not taking anything away from Federer's obviously great tennis skills, truth is, he was never tested by a quality opponent once he got onto his golden run of Slams. When he won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, there was no Sampras, Agassi was aging fast, Safin as history will show, was too inconsistent and overrated.
Contrast this with Pete Sampras. He started his run of dominance with the 1993 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl, Becker, Edberg were still around. Jim Courier and Michael Chang were tough too. And then there was a resurgent Andre Agassi. Of these, Becker, Agassi, Courier and Chang stayed on the circuit overlapping Sampras career for significant periods. Then there were the dark horses Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Nadal was not awed Federer
Nadal has approached each Federer match with the intent of beating him. He is a modern day Jimmy Conners, never cowed down by superior opponents. Unlike other players, he is not psychologically beaten in advance by Federer. Federer has to actually defeat him on the tennis court.
Nadal has skills to hurt Federer
Nadal has his own special skills. These are unique to him as a group though other players may possess one or the other. What are these?
Heavy topspin left handed forehand
Nadal hits probably the heaviest topspin in tennis. Heavy topspin causes a tennis ball to dip just before its natural trajectory. So, it drops a few feet before it would without topspin. This change in depth causes three problems. One is it makes judging depth very difficult for the opponent. Second, it opens more acute angles. Third it pushes the opponent deeper from the baseline.
Add to this the fact that a left handed Nadal can relentlessly attack Federer on the backhand. This opens up a weakness as errors pile up on this side for Federer.
Federer has a great forehand himself, but while Nadal has developed a consistent backhand to counter it, Federer has struggled on this front.
Superior mobility on the court
Federer is great at setting up a points in rallies and finish them. Nadal is the quickest mover on a tennis court. So Federer needs a couple of shots more to finish a point compared to his other opponents. This adds a slight frustration to his game which builds up in pressure situations. The probablity of errors goes up.
High percentage tennis
Nadal is one of the greatest defensive players around. He is a bigger, faster Michael Chang with a better backhand and a vastly superior forehand. His first serve percentage is usually good @70% and his unforced error rates are quite low. So, usually though Federer has more winners especially with his superior serve, he loses those gains as his errors (some due to reasons mentioned above) exceed Nadal's.
Continuous improvement
Nadal has constantly improved and added to his game. Federer has stagnated albeit at his very high level. This is more due to lack of opponents who were is true equal than anything else. So after a peak run, that level has dropped slightly. This has not affected him against all his other opponents. But, with Nadal, this slight drop is not so small. This along with an improving Nadal has led to a turnaround in the rivalry.
Federer's psychological makeup
As defeats have piled up against Nadal first on the clay courts, then on grass and now finally on courts, Federer is getting seriously affected by his nemesis. Add to that the fact that Federer is on the brink of statistical greatness to join Sampras and Nadal has already started reaching a good number, there is more pressure. When Sampras went for his 13th Slam, the next highest was Agassi on 7 and already close to retirement. Nadal is on 6 and just 22 yrs. So, here is someone who could just take Federer's greatness (atleast by numbers) away within a short period.
Conclusion
This is probably the most intriguing rivalry in men's tennis. Never before in modern tennis has the world's current dominant tennis player been so dominated by his rival, in his period of domination (2003 to 2008). Federer will not only have to regain his old level, but have a few additional tricks to derail his great rival when they meet to battle it out the next time.
This though is not a sudden occurrance. Various factors have led to this situation.
Before Nadal, Federer had no serious competition
Not taking anything away from Federer's obviously great tennis skills, truth is, he was never tested by a quality opponent once he got onto his golden run of Slams. When he won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, there was no Sampras, Agassi was aging fast, Safin as history will show, was too inconsistent and overrated.
Contrast this with Pete Sampras. He started his run of dominance with the 1993 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl, Becker, Edberg were still around. Jim Courier and Michael Chang were tough too. And then there was a resurgent Andre Agassi. Of these, Becker, Agassi, Courier and Chang stayed on the circuit overlapping Sampras career for significant periods. Then there were the dark horses Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Nadal was not awed Federer
Nadal has approached each Federer match with the intent of beating him. He is a modern day Jimmy Conners, never cowed down by superior opponents. Unlike other players, he is not psychologically beaten in advance by Federer. Federer has to actually defeat him on the tennis court.
Nadal has skills to hurt Federer
Nadal has his own special skills. These are unique to him as a group though other players may possess one or the other. What are these?
Heavy topspin left handed forehand
Nadal hits probably the heaviest topspin in tennis. Heavy topspin causes a tennis ball to dip just before its natural trajectory. So, it drops a few feet before it would without topspin. This change in depth causes three problems. One is it makes judging depth very difficult for the opponent. Second, it opens more acute angles. Third it pushes the opponent deeper from the baseline.
Add to this the fact that a left handed Nadal can relentlessly attack Federer on the backhand. This opens up a weakness as errors pile up on this side for Federer.
Federer has a great forehand himself, but while Nadal has developed a consistent backhand to counter it, Federer has struggled on this front.
Superior mobility on the court
Federer is great at setting up a points in rallies and finish them. Nadal is the quickest mover on a tennis court. So Federer needs a couple of shots more to finish a point compared to his other opponents. This adds a slight frustration to his game which builds up in pressure situations. The probablity of errors goes up.
High percentage tennis
Nadal is one of the greatest defensive players around. He is a bigger, faster Michael Chang with a better backhand and a vastly superior forehand. His first serve percentage is usually good @70% and his unforced error rates are quite low. So, usually though Federer has more winners especially with his superior serve, he loses those gains as his errors (some due to reasons mentioned above) exceed Nadal's.
Continuous improvement
Nadal has constantly improved and added to his game. Federer has stagnated albeit at his very high level. This is more due to lack of opponents who were is true equal than anything else. So after a peak run, that level has dropped slightly. This has not affected him against all his other opponents. But, with Nadal, this slight drop is not so small. This along with an improving Nadal has led to a turnaround in the rivalry.
Federer's psychological makeup
As defeats have piled up against Nadal first on the clay courts, then on grass and now finally on courts, Federer is getting seriously affected by his nemesis. Add to that the fact that Federer is on the brink of statistical greatness to join Sampras and Nadal has already started reaching a good number, there is more pressure. When Sampras went for his 13th Slam, the next highest was Agassi on 7 and already close to retirement. Nadal is on 6 and just 22 yrs. So, here is someone who could just take Federer's greatness (atleast by numbers) away within a short period.
Conclusion
This is probably the most intriguing rivalry in men's tennis. Never before in modern tennis has the world's current dominant tennis player been so dominated by his rival, in his period of domination (2003 to 2008). Federer will not only have to regain his old level, but have a few additional tricks to derail his great rival when they meet to battle it out the next time.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Rafa wins Aussie Open
Rafael Nadal has won the 2009 Australian Open. This puts him in a elite list of players who have 6 or more slams. Unless he breaks down due to his extremely physical game, he is good to reach the legendary level of 10 or more grand slam winners.
Only 3 players who played their entire career in the open era have reached there - Sampras, Federer and Borg. Only 3 others from earlier eras are in that list Emerson, Laver and Tilden.
At this point he is already level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, 1 short of McEnroe and Wilander and 2 short of Lendl, Conners and Agassi.
The next 2 years should see the fading off of Federer and the rise of newer stars, with Nadal at the center stage or just starting to falter. Flux always makes a sport interesting especially when 2-3 great sportsmen are around. (e.g. Ali, Frazier, Foreman or McEnroe, Borg, Conners)
Only 3 players who played their entire career in the open era have reached there - Sampras, Federer and Borg. Only 3 others from earlier eras are in that list Emerson, Laver and Tilden.
At this point he is already level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, 1 short of McEnroe and Wilander and 2 short of Lendl, Conners and Agassi.
The next 2 years should see the fading off of Federer and the rise of newer stars, with Nadal at the center stage or just starting to falter. Flux always makes a sport interesting especially when 2-3 great sportsmen are around. (e.g. Ali, Frazier, Foreman or McEnroe, Borg, Conners)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Competitive tennis, cricket in 2009
This looks likely to be a more competitive year in tennis. The days of Roger Federer being invincible seem to be over. Now Andy Murray has caught up, Nadal and Djokovic did last year and with 4 contenders for the slams with a few dark horses lurking as well in Safin, Roddick, Hewitt this year has a high chance of unpredictable results.
Cricket seems to be along something similar with other teams catching up with Australia as it comes down a level.
Cricket seems to be along something similar with other teams catching up with Australia as it comes down a level.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Wimbledon
I have been a hard core tennis fan since watching 'Boom Boom' Becker break through in 1985 and have seen some intense matches including finals. A few that come to mind
1988 US Open final - Wilander vs Lendl
1989 Wimbledon semifinal - Becker vs Lendl
1990 Wimbledon final - Becker vs Edberg
2007 Wimbledon final - Nadal vs Federer
I missed it this year, so unfortunate! But it was looking ominous for Federer with him slipping and Nadal improving year on year, the levels had to intersect.
Leander Paes has said it is slower at Wimbledon and in an earlier era Nadal would have been taken apart by Federer. I disagree as the gap between Nadal and Federer now is not so great on non-clay courts and it keeps increasing on clay and reducing on other surfaces.
The key this year was Federer not being able to break the Nadal serve so a quicker surface does'nt change that! What about Nadal breaking the Federer serve?
That was when Federer dropped his serve level briefly so again nothing to do with the surface. As always at Wimbledon the winner took his opportunities and the loser did not. No other slam turns around so quickly which is what makes Wimbledon the most attractive.
The thing is that Nadal has never been in awe of Federer. He goes at him like some great fighters of the past which include Jimmy Connors, Michael Chang who were never awed by their more fancied oponents, respectful yes, awed never.
This final is a closer match to Connors vs McEnroe 1982 than the more oft mentioned Borg vs McEnroe.
1988 US Open final - Wilander vs Lendl
1989 Wimbledon semifinal - Becker vs Lendl
1990 Wimbledon final - Becker vs Edberg
2007 Wimbledon final - Nadal vs Federer
I missed it this year, so unfortunate! But it was looking ominous for Federer with him slipping and Nadal improving year on year, the levels had to intersect.
Leander Paes has said it is slower at Wimbledon and in an earlier era Nadal would have been taken apart by Federer. I disagree as the gap between Nadal and Federer now is not so great on non-clay courts and it keeps increasing on clay and reducing on other surfaces.
The key this year was Federer not being able to break the Nadal serve so a quicker surface does'nt change that! What about Nadal breaking the Federer serve?
That was when Federer dropped his serve level briefly so again nothing to do with the surface. As always at Wimbledon the winner took his opportunities and the loser did not. No other slam turns around so quickly which is what makes Wimbledon the most attractive.
The thing is that Nadal has never been in awe of Federer. He goes at him like some great fighters of the past which include Jimmy Connors, Michael Chang who were never awed by their more fancied oponents, respectful yes, awed never.
This final is a closer match to Connors vs McEnroe 1982 than the more oft mentioned Borg vs McEnroe.
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