Hi all,

Not sure how Federer stays positive about his chances on clay...But it seems it is definitely the case..

Here the interview:

Q. What happened to your forehand today?
ROGER FEDERER: Mistakes, few too many, I guess. I'm not happy about the performance of my forehand. Rarely it happens to me, because it's my best shot in the game. I guess it's a bit different against Rafael.
You got to keep on pushing, and I just missed a few too many to go a break down in the first set. Missed my opportunities in the breakpoints and then go breakdown in the second, os it was disappointing.

Q. Beside the forehand, what should you do to beat him on clay?
ROGER FEDERER: Not make those mistakes, you know, and use the chance when I had them early on. I was playing very easily solid and in the beginning, created myself chances. He didn't have any breakpoints.
Unfortunately it turned around with a few mistakes. But I feel this match gave me some information. I think I'm absolutely in the mix with him on clay, which is how I wanted to feel.
You know, it's always disappointing to lose, but I feel like I didn't play well and still it was close. That's a good thing.

Q. You played 19 sets against him and you won only 5. What that means? I mean, almost one out of three. That's big, big difference apparently. The reason, explanation is only technical or sometimes mental? Do you get nervous when things are not going well?
ROGER FEDERER: Are you talking about clay?

Q. Clay, clay.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I don't know. You've seen his record on clay?

Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, he's won a few in a row. He's an excellent player, let's not forget. You're talking like he's playing around with me. That's not the case. It came very close the last few times, but clay is his number one surface; it's not mine, and still I come so close.
It's for me a good still a good thing to do, you know, to play, I don't know, four finals in a row on clay now. Okay. I lost four times against Rafa. I'd rather have that than lose against four different guys.
I feel like I'm in good shape for the rest of clay court season, and it's going to come down to the French Open to see who wins.

Q. Is this where Tony comes in handy, where you can both analyze what you think is more information and use it on this surface, which you say is obviously the one you want to improve on?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yeah, it's always good when you have somebody telling you from the outside. But I mean I also understand my game very, very well. I know what I'm going to have to work on in the next couple of weeks, and, you know, physically I feel fine. It was absolutely no problem today.
Of course it wasn't a four or five setter would have given me more information, and also physically. It's going to be interesting this year not having played any five setters going into the French Open, which we had last year here in the final and then also in Rome.
So that's going change, but we're definitely going to talk about and see what he thinks.

Q. What I meant before is that it is not mental, because even the serve, which has nothing to do or not much to do with Nadal it is not working as it usually does. I mean, you are bad percentage and second serve you lost a lot of points. Is it something that makes you more nervous or anxious when have to play him or not?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, he's a left handed player, so you serve differently. I mean, I don't know. Your questions are very strange today, seriously. You have to play different against Rafa than when you play against Ferrer or Ferrero.
I play 95% against right handed, so when I play left handed it's obviously a bit different. For him he plays right handed guys all the time so he doesn't need to adjust. So there he has I guess a little advantage.
This is what I'm trying to do over the last few years. I play better against lefties having a left handed coach. Hitting a lot of balls with him helps, too. So it doesn't come down to how I serve or do that, it's just about having a good day against him.
I've come very close and play very well against him, but on clay you need a really good day, you know.

Q. On the evidence of today and what you've seen generally this week of Rafa, do you think his game has gone on from last year, that he's better?
ROGER FEDERER: I thought he was playing identical to last year, to be honest. He's got such a solid base, you know, in terms of how he plays because he does it all year around already. He plays the same way.
I mean, it doesn't change for him on hard court or clay. Even on grass he plays the same way. So when he comes on clay the movement comes handy for him, too, because he's the No. 1 clay court mover to me. Obviously he's born on this surface so all of it works in his favor.
Look, he dominated everybody this week. I was expecting him to maybe struggle last year, but after he played so well again I see him strong against this year.

Q. Is there any new information you think you can carry forward today from what you found in the game?
ROGER FEDERER: No. But it's good for me to play against him. He sometimes makes me improve my backhand. I think that problem is solved for me. Today I started to miss on the forehand but, look, again, it can happen over a few minutes that you're going to have a downfall on one of your shots.
Again, you should try to avoid it, and that's going make you practice and make you a better player. I enjoy playing against him and I think the same for him. We can improve playing against each other. It was only two sets, so there's not too much you know, it was over in a hurry, so there's not too much we can say about it.

Lnk to the interview here

Ciao :rolleyes:

Well if he did not believe in it, then one would have a real good case to question his mental strengthes.

What I think gives the best clue in this interview is this: ...(The FH) is my best shot in the game. I guess it's a bit different against Rafael.

This is what I am saying in the other thread. On a bouncy clay, spiny shots, Fed's FH is not exactly the same. Fed is almost like a toothless dog. So keeping the moral high in those circumstances then becomes particularly difficult.

roflmao roflmao
Tenez...I have the feeling that I start really to know you quite well and anticipating some of your analysises (always :bow: ) as well my friend...

You have to believe me..I posted this thread and I was thinking to myself: I am sure this sentence will be the one that Tenez will stress..And it happens... ;) ;)

I agree this is really the key and it is for this reason that it would be very funny to see them playing in a (very) cool day in which part of the Rafa top spin will move away...I am waiting for Hamburg for that as well Rome because down there the clay is the one with more speed...Might be at the end it will be AA who is right: For him FED would be able to beat Rafa on Rome because the clay there is a fast one...We will see..

Ciao :rolleyes:

You bait....I bite! It's called fishing! ;)

All the last 4 finals Fed and Nadal played were on fast clay! And Fed lost them all. I am not sure what more you (and AA) needs to validate your point?

The high bounce is not ideal for Fed, but that's not the major problem. Feds serve and returns were poor by his standards, it's definitely a mental thing with Fed, on clay he doesn't believe he can beat rafa.

Nadal has seriously improved, too. His shots were going SO deep...not only does Federer have the mental issue, but in his considerations on how to beat Nadal, he needs to factor in Rafa's evolution into Clay Court Supremo

To me this is the key ;

I think this was a legitimate question; clay or not, hot weather or not, topspin or not and even lefty on not (i can't remember any difficulties against Niemienen...), It's no excuse for bad serving.
I also think the way Roger responded to this question is telling; Roger is in denial, he is mentally vulnerable against Rafa.

I'm not sure that his response is a form of denial. I read his response as saying that, against the left-handed Nadal, his normal service pattern, which is quite effective against most other players, just doesn't work. So he has to change it up.

I took it more as an acknowledgement of the kinds of adjustments he needs to make in order to compete against Nadal on clay. Is that a sign of mental weakness?

Very much agree with you Nick. It is impossible in my view to dissociate the mental side and the player's weapons. Borg was a rock mentally but then when McEnroe came along he simply could not face being challlenged. Why? cause before noone could really get into Borg's game (and mind as a consequence). His game plan of running around, retrieveing everything with steady long top spin shots was enough to demoralise all his opponents. We saw the same thing when McEnroe could not cope with Lendl or becker pacy shots. They suddenly lose faith in their game because they know that they do not have the means to damage their opponents.

We have seen on grass and hard against Rafa that Fed was more than confident. The bottom line is that on clay he hasn't got the weapons hence his moral goes down. But certainly not the other way around. Otherwise he would have lost in Shangai and more so in Wimbledon where clearly he had all to lose there.

Hence can you answer this one as well: Why is it that Berdych did not convert his BPs against Nadal last week but has much less problem against the same player on hard? Is it a mental thing again?

Common guys. Nadal won 70 matches in a row on clay. I think some are in denial of that simple fact and believe Federer has wings and should win everything. The truth is on clay it is a different game!

Good post :ok:

it's not a mental thing for federer, nadal just plays a better game on clay.

I would even try to be more precise vivahate:

Nadal plays a safer game on clay.

But yes we agree on the principle.

Yep. I definitely think it's more the skill than a mental thing. Nadal is just about unstoppable on clay. That might frustrate Fed a bit, but the frustration is more a result of his trouble against Nadal, not the cause of it. But he does and should remain positive about his chances. I think Fed has the game to beat Nadal on clay. He's 0-5 now, but he's come close. If they play five more times on clay, I'd expect Fed to win one or two of them.

What chances on clay????? He lost 42 games in monte carlo compared to the 24 Nadal dropped. GOOO NADALLLL :bow: :yahoo:

you mark my words young Liam - there will come a day..... :pray:

there will come a day....when Nadal steals Feds SW19 crown...and that day isnt too far away :P

:blink:

um... that isnt what I had in mind, and anyway, not until hell freezes over - Fed will win RG before Nadal wins Wimbers ;)

i actually agree :( Nadal still has the best buns though ;)

roflmao I actually like Nadal and love seeing him do well - but I want Fed to win over him it has to be said.

But yes, Rafa has the best buns by far :devil:

Does Fed look positive in this pic?

um....

Tenez, are you Roger Federer? roflmao

We've seen that Fed wasn't too confident on grass and hard either against Nadal; he converted only 3 breakpoint out of 11 at the Masters cup. Although Roger was in his best form at Wimbledon as well the YEC; he looked nervous all the way. Difference is -and that's something i do agree with u -he has (a lot) more to compensate for his fears on these surfaces.
But would he never have played against Nadal before last year at wimbledon he would have won easily. Mindgames you know..

My bottom line; what i would like to see is that his moral doesn't go down as soon as he loses 2 breakpoints.

nuff said about this subject; hopefully we will see a Canas/Nadal encounter in Barca; let's see what Canas' moral is made off.. ;)

No GP, I wish I could play like him but I am not him. Of Course Fed was nervous or tensed at Wimbedon and at the Masters. But if you have been watching his matches with everybody, he always look tensed in the first set or so until he feels he contains the guy. With teh history he had with nadal, he certainly was pretty stressed at Wimbledon and at the Masters but he nerves did not let him down even in the crushing times. This is what is important.

Unfortunately I don't think you are going to see Canas bothering Nadal in Barca. Canas is a fighter but he has not much weapon.

We ll carry on this conversation after Rome's final. ;)

Agreed with you there Tenez,provided he makes the Rome final.He does however believe that will be in the final,I mean look at his comments after Monte Carlo...

All,

Here some very interesting opinions...

First one by John McEnroe (I was not a great fan of him (due to his personality) but his Tennis was gorgeous to watch and now he is one of the best expert around IMO:

For him Fed has two years, details here

This is the main remark:

"[Roger Federer] is already one of the greats, one of the best. To say that he is the best of all time, he has to win Roland Garros and I do not see that happening in the present conditions :( ,"

And the opinion of Andre...Details here

I like this comment by Andre:

``They're two dynamic personalities that are completely opposite {About Rafa and FED]'' Agassi said. ``That's what existed when you looked at (John) McEnroe and (Bjorn) Borg, or Pete and myself.''

Have nice day :rolleyes:

Besides this time Wilander is right: This is precisely the same feeling I had after MC ceremony:

Wilader wrote the following in his blog:

"I logged onto the ATP Tour website and saw the picture of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer from the post-match ceremony from the Monte Carlo Open where Nadal beat Federer in straight sets to win the title.

I have to say I was a little concerned for Roger," Wilander said. "He looked too happy. He didn't seem upset enough that he had just lost. He was smiling and talking to Nadal. He looked as though he didn't mind losing to the Nadal. He really has to start hating to lose to Nadal.
He has to see that losing to Nadal as unacceptable and he shouldn't just accept losing so easily. Roger should be careful because Nadal is gaining on him."

Correct: Fully agree ...Roger there is no fun in loosing from Nadal!!!!

BTW: The comment from Wilader was published HERE

Whereas I normally berate Wilander for some of his more graceless comments, I have to agree with him here. I was surprised at Rogers relaxed demeanor.
Now, in the past when he's lost to Rafa, he's been gracious...but that inscrutable face of his cracked enough to show how completely furious he was with himself. Just glimpses of anger would show through.

However, this time I didn't see it at all. Maybe I am alone in thinking this, but it seemed as though he'd just lost an exhibtion or such like.

I do think he's totally focussed on trouncing Nadal on clay, but he needs to extend this past solely thinking about RG.

Also don't think Canas has the weapons to beat an on-form clay crusher such as Nadal

Hi Sara..As I said I am fully agree with Wilander here (rare) as well with you...

Concerning Canas..Might be he will be strong enough to take some games to Rafa...This guy is now fully on charge..Just unstoppable at the moment in particular in Spain.. B)

Yes, TV, I think Feds post match attitude was what infuriated me with his play. Not sure I understand what's going on, but with Rafa on cruise control...he needs to start getting psychologically pumped up for their next encounter.

I don't think Nadal will gain on Federer too significantly on the other surfaces, certainly not on grass...Federer doesn't have other "bogey" players (taking Canas out of the equation for the moment :rolleyes: )

However, if Nadal DOES beat Federer on grass, or indeed, starts to routinely beat him on hard (where it is currently more even) then Federer will be rocked, and I think all hopes of clay court victories will be dashed.

Thinking out loud here - and only pontificating on what could be...but I do think Federer needs to seize this cc season, before it's too late...

I find myself agreeing with Wilander this time....I watched a documentary late last year on Jimmy Connors.Im sure I posted this before but anyway,his mother ws his coach in the beginning and you know what she taught him?
She told him that every opponent out there is his enemy and that they are there to take the food off his table.
There is no friends on the tour.You are here to win.
Evidently he didnt have many friends and was very successful because everyone was his enemey.Maybe he should start hating Nadal before he ends up like Kim Clijsters that wants to be liked by everyone and doesnt win!

roflmao

You're completely right...

Federers new mantra should be:

There is no friends on the tour.You are here to win.

It's nice to be considerered the nice guy, but I always thought he previously had a good balance of cordial, polite nice guy and ice man insrutability. He needs to restore this. The rivalry with Nadal should only be fun for the fans, not for him!!

I did make a similar point on another thread :

http://z3.invisionfree.com/Centre_Court/in...dpost&p=1619980

Federer's in a unique position mentally .He's one of the greatest ever, even on clay. But he's an underdog on clay . That must be hard for him to handle. Plus the extra pressure of knowing that just one French Open would probably mean he's the GOAT.

Its hard to separate the mental and technical aspects of it though, I do agree most of his problem is simply Nadal' s game which matches up well against his esp. on clay .
Im not sure what McEnroe means though , that Federer has to change his natural game and be more patient. Why does Federer seem at times that he's going to beat Nadal on clay ? He even has won sets quite easily . But he's not going to beat Nadal by trying to play a Nadal-type game .

A further interesting aspect (it is my day of adding stuff so roflmao )..I like this Rafa's reaction:

Nadal admitted he was ''surprised'' to beat Federer in two sets, but had nothing but praise for his opponent. ''What can I say about 10 Grand Slams against two?'' Nadal said. ``It would be stupid for me to say anything bad about him.''

Nadal is a smart and a nice guy ...I guess it is quite difficult to have bad feeling against him...Still FED needs a little bit of these as well the next time they will play one against the other: On the court Roger Rafa is your enemy...You must win at least one RG come on :pray: :pray:

Further on Rafa&FED here

Ciao :rolleyes:

I think Wilander clearly underestimates Fed's will to win Nadal on clay and especially at the French. I don't think Fed smiling or not smiling with Rafa will have any impact on his desire to win in the future nor will it make Rafa's topspin bounces lower. I really think you are reading too much onto those post match details.

And Federer is not Connors.....never will be (thank God). We have seen with Roddick how useless it was to "hate" roger more under Connors supervsion. This is to me a lot of garbage.

At the end of the day, any energy spent in liking or disliking your opponent while the ball is in play, is energy that is wasted and energy that should be put into into the ball instead.

This is the beauty of sport and art. You cannot be too agressive, and you cannot be too friendly. Balance and perfection is what brings success and that is exactly what brought Federer 10 GSs!

Your justification here is a bit unfounded.Roddick cant and never will hate Roger as he spends so much time licking his backside and obsessing about him and how to beat him.I dont think Connors taught him mummy's trick.

Also negative energy can be chanelled into a weapon especially if you are as good as Roger.Look at McEnroe for example.The man exudes all is emotion,anger and frustration into his tennis and he played better.Roger has gotten over his brattyness and I think he is good enough now to channel a disliking for Nadal into his tennis for the better.

Its not garbage,its smart if you are a great player and Roger is just that!

McEnroe is exactly the best example of what shoudl NOT be done. The guy is a genius, yet he s got as many slams as Wilander the much less talented mister nice guy who even was replaying MP in his favour despite the referee having already given the match to him (We all remember the Clerc match at the FO 82).

McEnroe would have done much better if he had not wasted his energy hating and arguing. Laver, Borg, Sampras and Federer (the 4 greatests) prove the point, don't they?

We arent talking about what he could have done we are talking about what he was able to do when he channelled his anger correctly and he often produced genius!

I do agree that he COULDVE have done a lot better,but Federer is no McEnroe and I think he would use the past greats as a learning tool for his own tennis and not repeat their mistakes.He is intelligent!

Remember Tenez,everything is a weapon in tennis,its how you interpret what you have in front of you and put it to use rather than how you go take what you have with a closed mind and deem it useless! ;)

I just have a gut feeling that Fed.will find a way to win the FO. He's that good.

I think the "too nice" talk is just a bunch of crap.

Unfortunately... my gut is only grumbling for food a the moment.... :)

On a serious note ....I think his best chance was last year..... I dont feel so good about this year.... But such is the thing with FED.... when you least expect he pulls something out of the hat.....

I hope it is not going to be a rabbit though....that wouldn't do the trick!! :)