Tennis isn’t purely a game about the mechanics of serving or hitting the ball to an opponent. Rather, it’s a twisted mind game – a battle of wits, where the key to success is the ability to read and exploit a rival’s mental weakness. We see the epitome of this strategy in the classic match between the world’s No. 1 Roger Federer against the world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in finals of Masters Series Event in Hamburg, Germany. This was the sixth meeting between the two on clay with Nadal winning the previous five matches. My money was placed on Nadal, who came into the finals in Hamburg riding an astonishing 81 match win streak on clay that dates back to April 2005, including winning 13 titles.
Hamburg proved to be a different story. Roger Federer came out on top with an absolute dominating performance as he beat Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Federer knew if he wanted to win he had to play with a different formula against the world’s No. 2. He controlled the match by dictating play and by focusing on penetrating his heavy ground strokes deep towards the middle of the court and finishing off the points at net either with a volley or forcing Nadal to come up with a passing shot.
In a prior engagement between the two, Federer tried to beat Nadal with angles and force Nadal out wide, which didn’t work due Nadal’s great speed and defensive play. Changing the strategy and playing the ball deep towards the middle, handcuffed Nadal and forced him to play on his heels most of the night due to his long looping strokes. It was the controlling nature that put Federer on top in Hamburg starting with his serves. Roger put in an impressive 74 percent of his first serves during the second set which turned the match around, which allowed Federer to grab a crucial shift of the momentum in the match. Federer stole the match and every ounce of momentum that was left in the third set, by using an overall attacking and blistering approach. In the first point Federer made to great sliding volleys with the second one going past Nadal to take 15-0 lead. On the next point Federer snapped a blazing forehand in the opposite corner off of Nadal’s return of serve, and at 30-15 kicked a second serve out wide which took any remaining wind the Spaniard had in sail. Once Federer took at 3-0 lead in the third set it was clear Federer was in control, and it was smooth sailing after that as he took the final set 6-0, and finally got a much needed win on clay against Nadal.
Federer’s win over Nadal in Hamburg set up an interesting story and perhaps a rematch of last year’s Final at the French Open, which starts next week. It will be interesting to see how Rafael Nadal responds at Roland Garros after his recent loss, where he has been champion for the past two years. One would wonder if Nadal would come even stronger with a week of rest and not having the winning streak hanging over his head. On the other side of the story, Federer is coming to the French Open with a much-needed win on clay, where he has been struggling all year long. The confidence boost for Federer might be what he needs to put him over the top this year and finally win the only major that has eluded him thus far. The stage is set for another potential match up between the world no. 1 and world no. 2 in the finals on the major stage of Roland Garros, which can be seen on the Tennis Channel (DISH channel 400). The Tennis Channel provided by DISH Network airs all the tournaments for both the men’s and women’s tennis tours, Davis Cup matches from around the globe. Moreover, the channel airs everything about tennis from classic matches from years past to instructional videos to improve your game, a must have for all tennis fans.
