'He transformed as a tennis player' - Larry Stefanki & Perez-Barbadillo explain how Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in 2008
The date of 6 July 2008 has been permanently etched into the history of tennis. That was the day when Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer to win his maiden Wimbledon title.
The match has since been called the greatest in the history of the sport by many. And in a recent podcast, renowned coach Larry Stefanki and Rafael Nadal’s PR manager Benito Perez-Barbadillo gave their expert views on the epic contest.
Stefanki and Barbadillo were speaking on the podcast hosted by Mary Carillo, Matt Roberts and Christopher Clarey. They talked in detail about the changes Nadal made to his game in order to get the result he wanted, and how his mental strength played a key role down the home stretch.
Rafael Nadal changed his court positioning to overcome the Roger Federer challenge: Larry Stefanki
Rafael Nadal had mauled Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 in the French Open final that year, and was desperate to win his first-ever Wimbledon title. The Spaniard had been thwarted by the Swiss Maestro in both the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon finals, prompting many to believe he was not destined to win there.
Prior to the 2008 Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal had never beaten Roger Federer on grass. In fact, the Spaniard had just a single grasscourt title to boast of, in the form of the Queens Club title that he won in 2008 itself.
The odds were heavily stacked against Rafael Nadal, as Roger Federer was not just a master of the surface but he also knew how to beat the Spaniard on it.
But the tables turned in 2008, with Nadal emerging victorious by a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7. The match itself lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes, but several rain delays meant that the overall duration was stretched to more than seven hours.
In that context, Larry Stefanki gave his insight on the tactical changes adopted by Rafael Nadal during the match. Stefanki talked about how the Spaniard was more aggressive than usual in the rallies, and how he stayed close to the baseline while returning serve.
“Rafa has a great gift of developing and evolving as a tennis player. I would say - ‘Rafa because it's grass you can’t be 30 feet behind the baseline.' He started playing closer to the baseline and he thought - ‘I’m gonna take the ball on the return, right off the baseline.'”
Stefanki also talked about Rafael Nadal's footwork while hitting off both wings. While the Spaniard used his forehand to great effect as always, in that 2008 match he also did plenty of damage with his backhand - by getting in position early and taking the ball on the rise.
“His footwork started to get more efficient going to right on his backhand side," Stefanki said. "On his forehand he was turning and whacking. He transformed as a tennis player. He changed his court position on the return of serve in 2008.”
Rafael Nadal was 'not gonna lose, he’s gonna win’
Roger Federer saved championship points in the fourth set tiebreak to take it to a decider. The match was evenly poised in the fifth set at the score of 2-2 (deuce) on the Federer serve, when rain decided to play spoilsport and force the players off the court for half an hour.
Rafael Nadal’s PR Manager Benito Perez-Barbadillo recalled that crucial moment and said:
“One thing I remember about that final. You find yourself in that position after losing the 4th set and soon going back into the locker room because of the rain. There’s not a lot of people who would recover from that. I mean you (Rafa) had match points and stuff.”
Only two people were allowed inside Rafael Nadal’s locker room at that point. One of them was of course his coach Toni Nadal, and the other was his physiotherapist Rafael Maymo. Perez-Barbadillo revealed what Maymo told him once the game got close to resumption:
“I asked Maymo and he said - ‘He’s (Rafa) feeling great, he says he’s not gonna lose, he’s gonna win! He’s fine!' I’m like 'wow' and I thought he could be so down, so difficult to turn around. And that gave us a lot of confidence in the box to cheer him on.”
Not much separated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on the court that day. The two legends were nearly inseparable in terms of their skill and ability, which is why the match lasted that long in the first place.
However, what defines Rafael Nadal as a champion is his unbreakable grit and belief. And on 6 July 2008, Roger Federer had no answer to the fighting spirit of Rafael Nadal.