Sampras to Stakhovsky: The flipside of Roger Federer (Part 2)

In part 1, we looked at the rise of Federer during the reign of Sampras. Now, in part 2, we look at the rivalry between Nadal and Federer.

The Swiss had not changed with the modern times. He had not adopted to the changing physical game. He still played what was a transition between the serve and volley and the modern baseline game. That was a mistake that cost him many titles. Federer never was a great mover on the court and he never did attempt to become one. He would always stick on to his strategy and would always toy with his opponents. But Nadal was not one to be toyed with. Nadal’s power, pace and stamina easily outmatched Federer’s slow, precision and technique-based game.

Federer was class. He played with grace, elegance and had the touch of a genius. He would glissade his way past opponents who would look clueless against his magic. His intricate forehands, the delicate dropshots, the backhand winners were something to be admired. But in sports, very rarely did grace win over athleticism. Brian Lara was an elegant player, but Sachin, who did not possess what Lara did, always prevailed over Lara.

Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, was an embodiment of athleticism, a livewire on the court, someone who was equivalent to a raging bull in terms of determination, courage, passion. He had the burning desire to win and every shot he hit was like a bullet. Federer virtually had no answer to this. Rafael Nadal, on his day, would just shatter Federer to nothing. His mere presence on the courts intimidated the opponent.

Just after Nadal came another face that would trouble Federer. This time it was the Australian Open. Experts and fans were looking for another classic Federer-Nadal final, with many believing Federer would win due to Nadal being ill-equipped on hard courts.

But again, fate had decided something contrary to that.

Two new faces emerged out of the blues to shine in the tournament. One was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who announced his arrival by sending Murray home in the first round. The next was Djokovic. Although not a new face, few expected the 21-year old Serbian third seed to win the tournament. He defeated Federer in straight sets in the semifinal with an exuberant display of strength, stamina and athleticism. This had marked the arrival of a new rival to Federer.

As the dayd progressed, Federer’s life on the tour became increasingly tough. Andy Murray, another of the new breed of physical baseliners, had established a better head-to-head record against Federer.

The 2008 French Open was another tournament which had Nadal’s name etched all over it. Every Federer fan hoped for a change of name on the Roland Garros trophy but that seemed a far-fetched dream to Federer. Clay was never Federer’s forte but Nadal’s domination of Federer in the final seemed like Federer would never pick up a tennis racquet again. Rafael Nadal had demolished and humiliated Roger Federer in the final with a straight sets victory.

He was just the proverbial mile away from achieving greatness. Between him and greatness was only the title at tennis’s own colosseum.

Federer had won the last 5 times at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and was bidding to equal William Renshaw’s record of 6 consecutive titles. Federer had danced his way into the final and Nadal had bullied his way by destroying all his opponents with equal ease. Many were doubtful whether Federer would win after seeing him dominated by Nadal in the French Open but still they maintained that Federer would prevail on his favourite surface. He was unbeaten at the Wimbledon for 41 matches when the final came.

What turned out on that day was one of the greatest matches in the history of tennis and the longest ever Wimbledon final, lasting for 4 hrs 48 min. Rafael Nadal had defeated the magnificent Roger Federer for the first time in Wimbledon as Federer made an unforced error on Nadal’s fifth match point. That match remains as one of the best ever witnessed in the open era. That day signalled the shift of regime from the exuberant Swiss to the blustering Spaniard.

Nadal had shown himself to be one of the best players of the open era. He was at the peak of his career and playing the best tennis. When Nadal was on form, no one could go anywhere near him which is warranted by the record number of Masters Titles held by Nadal.

But, every man has a demon.

Nadal had one too. No, in fact two.

We’ll look at that in part 2.