Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
did anyone watch the match ? I couldn't find any streams....what did you think ?
I'm really pleased...good to see someone able to challenge Nadal on the clay, does the game no favours when one player is dominating it (unless he/she is British )
I watched it on Sky Sports. Sheddie, was there not a stream on bwin?
Federer was hitting the forehand incredibly well. Just belting it crosscourt time after time. Once he got some confidence and realised he could win, he outclassed Nadal. Imo, Nadal will now struggle to beat Federer again now that Fed has this confidence. Nadal was playing to Fed's backhand a lot and that just helped Fed to play it into some rhtyhm.
Federer played a lot like he has done in patches against Nadal in the past. Previously, he has put in 8 or 9 superb games against Nadal but not been able to keep uthat level. Difference today was he kept it up for 2 full sets and it was way too good for Nadal.
__________________
Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
I've been waiting and hoping that Fed would find a way to ambush Rafa on clay sometime this year, and when I'd just about given up hope, he does it - that's class for you.
This is going to make RG very, very interesting!
__________________
GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Yeah, Nadal was making a few uncharacteristic errors. Would be unfair to say otherwise. That was definitely a factor. It was not only two weeks of tennis, he won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and now final of Hamburg. That's four weeks out of the last five! 20 matches in five weeks.
Still, he played fine in first set and had he got the early break in second when he had 2 break points, he probably would have won. Credit must go to Federer for saving those break points and putting the pressure on Nadal by raising his own level. I'm sure the level of Federer's play made Nadal's legs just feel wearier and wearier whereas if Federer hadn't upped his game Nadal would probably never have even noticed his tired legs.
__________________
Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
Thanks John, I thought that would have been the case, I expect you're right about the way the match was going affecting how tired Nadal felt.
As for whether Federer will always beat Nadal on clay now, i don't think that's the case, but I do think he'll win some more. He also appears to have played himself out of his little slump in form which Fed fans will be happy to see.
__________________
To look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing and one does not see anything until one sees its beauty
Hi all, I've been lurking around for a while now and have finally decided to take the plunge.
I'm a fan of both Federer and Nadal but was beginning to despair that Roger would ever beat Rafa on clay. Today he did. It must have been a huge relief after his own dip in form and his less than fantastic record against the man from Mallorca on this surface.
It will certainly make the tournament at Roland Garros very interesting and I'm looking forward to it with a great deal of anticipation. I only hope the Beeb decide to broadcast some of the games as I don't have Sky.
Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience