The Grandstand‘s Top 10 Matches of the Year list continues with the top five, starting with the Wimbledon semifinal between Roger Federer at Rafael Nadal at No. 5.
The only thing lacking in the 40th installment of the legendary Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal rivalry was a fifth and final set.
That’s not to say this Wimbledon semifinal showdown was without drama; not at all. The zenith came with Federer serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth. Nadal earned a break chance at 30-40–which the third-seeded Swiss saved–and then fought off two match points, both with clean winners. Federer eventually capitalized on his third chance, getting the job done after three hours and two minutes.
The eight-time champion at the All-England Club fired 14 aces compared to only one double-fault, won 25 of 33 net points, and almost doubled his unforced errors with winners (51 to 27). It was without question one of Federer’s two best performances of the year (also the Nitto ATP Finals against Novak Djokovic)…and yet it still wasn’t easy against a familiar foe who was up for the challenge on a difficult surface for this matchup.
“It’s always very, very cool to play against Rafa here, especially (because we) haven’t played in so long,” Federer noted. “It lived up to the hype, especially from coming out of the gates we were both playing very well. Then the climax at the end with the crazy last game…. It had everything at the end, which was great.
“It’s definitely, definitely going to go down as one of my favorite matches to look back at, again, because it’s Rafa, it’s at Wimbledon, the crowds were into it, great weather. I felt like I played [well] also throughout the four sets.”
“I started to play much better at the end of the match,” Nadal assessed. “But it was too late.”
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tough one for Rafa
He didn’t play well! And Fed was magnificent…
Nadal only didn’t play well in the 3rd
yes, Fed was insane
Fed’s level across semis and final was mindblowing. He just really froze in the tiebreaks..quite bizarre really given the level he was playing at. I still think fed remembers this wimby fondly because of how he played against rafa; he was unbelievably dialled in mentally for that one while you could see him visibly sag when the crowd cheered him as he came on court against Nole.
Yes ,the semi was like the real final. A bit flat after that.Often happens.
For some reason, this year Nadal was not at this best at Wimbledon. Probably he wasn’t yet out of the woods after the mental issues he had earlier in the year. Even if Federer wouldn’t have had such a great day, I highly doubt that Rafa would have beaten Djokovic in the final.
Last year Nadal played great in the semifinals and the final but was totally unlucky to fight a really inspired DelPo in the SF (and get tired) then have to play under an unjustified closed roof (which in the end gave Djokovic the edge). He could/should have won that final.
This year Rafa didn’t play well enough to win Wimbledon, but still produced the second best match of the tournament.
Nadal played great at Wimbledon. Beat a motivated Kyrgios in 4 sets and boat-raced everyone else until the semis.
Very true, especially since Rafa had by far the toughest draw of the Big Three. Rafa hadn’t played that well at Wimby in ages. In the semis he ran into a great playing Fed and couldn’t quite keep up his level.
Yes, he played great but IMO not at his best! Last year I think that he played better in the semis and the final (although he did not serve that well). The difference between “Big 3” and the rest is quite large on grass so “boat-racing” lesser players is not that relevant.
The extra week of rest after RG is probably why Nadal started again to play well at Wimbledon… but apparently not good enough.
The adjustments in Rafa’s game will probably make him even better on grass so I hope that he’s healthy next year because he would probably be the favorite.
Yes Federer was amazing, but Rafa really didnt get going till the 3 rd set, wouldnt loved to have seen a 2007 / 2008 type match with the two greats evenly matched from the word go, not saying Rafa wouldve won, but it wouldve been more of a contest, was quite dissapointing as a contest ….
And for what its worth Wimbledon is supposed to be an outdoor tournament, not indoor, so it should be played as such, leave outdoor tournaments outdoors, and indoor tournaments indoors, its quite a bugbear for me when they mess about with tradition ….
And lose many days play to bad weather?
If Rafa was the best indoor player in the world would you complain about the roof?😉
I would! Indoor grass is an abomination. Anyway, Wimbledon agreed about the “closed roof in perfect weather” abortion in 2018 and changed the rules so that it will NEVER happen again.
Not gonna be happy about indoor clay, either and it WILL happen.
And how do you know Rafa ISN’T now the “best indoor player in the world”. He looked pretty darn good at it this fall.
I’m sure everyone generally prefers outdoor tennis on grass,but how do you know Nadal lost because of it?
nobody can be sure
but Nadal should have won the match even though it was played indoors, and outdoors is far more favorable for him. so people can surmise — but not be sure — that outdoors would have tipped the scales enough in his favor given how close he was even indoors
A lot of surmising in close tennis matches that come down to one or two points !
As Ive read many times from Nadal fans , he tends to revert to his defensive game which relies on the ball bouncing. But not this year at the WTF .Which shows he’s capable of playing more aggressive.
Correct me if wrong,but in that match at Wimby, his serve also let him down , which is one shot that doesnt depend much on conditions.
I honestly think the match was won on the Friday night after Djoko went two sets to one up. Opening roof next day might have made a difference.
I’m with Ricky, because outdoors with wind doesn’t favor Djoko’s style of play, esp his serve. In indoor conditions Djoko hardly missed his serve! Rafa deals better with the windy conditions than Djoko does.
Rafa had himself to blame though as he had a chance to go up two sets to one indoors before they postponed the rest of the match to the next day. He screwed it and it would be an uphill task to win the next two sets the following day, when Djoko would certainly fight hard for the win.
it was in 2019
Lucky: I cant remember, but was the wind a factor that day? Whats that got to do with Nadals performance indoors . As you say ,he screwed it, as did Fed this year, so points to Djoko as the greater match player in those matches, to be fair.
The main things in the following order:
1) they closed the roof despite its not dark yet;
2) Rafa said he was affected by the indoor lights and had to take some time to get used to it, resulting in him losing the first set rather quickly;
3) he had the upperhand in the third set but screwed it;
4) the following day despite bright sunshine, the match was played indoors and so it was an uphill task for Rafa having to win two sets in a row when Djoko was definitely very determined not to have it happened. Had Rafa won the third set, he needed only one more set the following day which was more achievable than having to win two sets despite it being played indoors.
5) outdoors vs indoors, the elements certainly played a part outdoors – Rafa is a better outdoor player than Djoko. Rafa could win the fourth set despite its played indoors, had the two sets been played outdoors, Rafa would have a higher chance of winning both than when it’s played indoors.
I think that playing indoors is much better than messing with players and spectators (extreme conditions and/or hectic scheduling which often makes luck decide the winner).
However, having a roof does not mean that you can use it to tip the scales. Like close it when it’s too hot but just for some players or keep it closed for absurd reasons.
Also I think that it’s stupid to have to close the roof to get artificial lighting. Wimbledon decision makers should have known better.
IMO they should never have started the second semi so late on the Friday,but the previous semi was the real problem it was far too long.
Big AL Not saying Rafa lost because of the roof, all, not saying he wouldve won if the roof was still open either, all im saying is Wimbledon is an outdoor tournament, so it should be played as such, however if its pissing it down with rain then fair enough close the dratted thing, but it wasnt it was boiling hot , made my point anyway ….
Big Al its not always about Rafa fans having a moan, look at the bigger picture and see that sometimes all his fans or any fans want, is for every player to be treated fairly ….
And i dont ever want a roof at RG , not because clay and RG are Rafas best GS blah, blah, blah, i just want things to be left alone, tradition to be left alone ….
Well, we’re getting a roof on Philippe Chatrier, like it or not, but I agree with you. But Rafa is a practical soul and he definitely approves of roofs. Rafa also considers himself a professional tennis player, not a “clay courter” or a “wind player”.
I used to wonder why Rafa didn’t play the “Golden Swing” after 2005, as all the other Spanish speaking players did. It was clear he could have cleaned it up but he did not play there until 2013 when hard courts became so very tough on his fragile knees.
I don’t like a roof either(esp on ‘tradtitional’ surfaces) but it’s becoming a necessity.The only fair way is to agree a set of rules with the players and stick with them.
RG might have been very different last year with a roof.I’m not saying Nadal would have lost.
Djokovic might have won his semi under a roof. Might have had a “classic” Rafole final. Don’t think Fed was going to win his RG semi with or without a roof.
Otoh, the roof did Djokovic no favors at the WTF…so who knows?
Sorry no right thread for this but putting this here as it made me laugh out loud. It’s from the comments btl on an article in the Grauniad analysing the contemporary S&&t show which masquerades for politics in our recent election:
“as the great materialist thinker Rafael Nadal said,”Ifs don’t exist”. Neither do would haves”.
Really shows what extraordinary cultural icons Rafa and Fed are that they are referenced literally everywhere.
Made me laugh..😀
Thanks, Amy. Made me LOL too. 🙂 If Rafa sees it I bet he’ll LOL too.
Chiming in on the roof question: for the spectators, the tv audience and the organizers it’s of course good because scheduling becomes more predictable. But the game of tennis loses certain aspects which make each match unique and challenging. Rainbreaks are not just an inconvenience. They are psychologically challenging and the mentally stronger player on a given day will benefit. Goran Ivanisevic would’ve never won his one and only Wimby trophy if there had been a roof. He was very much on his way out against Tim Henman but was saved by various timely rain breaks. He re-charged mentally by watching Tele Tubbies, came back the next day and won the match. He had coped much better with the changing conditions than Tim Henman.
Tennis also becomes different in windy conditions and the players have to cope with the constantly changing conditions. I won’t even call it irregular because a whole set of skills is needed in order to prevail during windy conditions. Therefore I think that outdoor tournaments should remain outdoor tournaments. We have still plenty of indoor events at the end and at the beginning of the season.
When an outdoor tournament has added a roof to some of it’s show courts it should only be closed if the weather conditions simply don’t allow any play at all anymore. While it’s not possible to play on wet hardcourt or grass, it’s perfectly safe to continue playing on clay courts during a slight drizzle. And wind should never be a reason to stop play or close a roof if there’s one, unless the wind is so strong that it causes physical danger for players, umpires and spectators. As others said there should be strict rules for using the roof. It’s IMO a total no-go to close the roof during fine weather, just because it might rain later. The roof should also be opened up again when the weather conditions have improved and play is possible again without a roof. Right now the use of the roof is often an arbitrary mess.
While it is true that Rafa vastly prefers true outdoor conditions, I have not the foggiest idea if he would’ve won last year’s Wimby semi against Novak if the roof had been open. We will never know, but since it was such a tight affair I think that the roof may indeed have tilted the match in Novak’s favor. But that’s not the point. The point is that the conditions were fine and since Wimby is an outdoor tournament the roof should have never been closed in the first place! It doesn’t matter who benefits and who doesn’t.
As to having a roof at the FO, I highly doubt that this will be detrimental for Rafa. His clay court skills are probably hardly affected and he has always been great on Davis Cup indoor clay courts. He might even benefit because he doesn’t like to play on wet and heavy clay courts. Dry conditions suit him much better. But again – the FO are an outdoor tournament and they should stay an outdoor tournament. Thus, a roof should be used only if it is not possible anymore to start or continue a match.
Amy good post hun very funny lol, my mum used to say ” if ifs and buts, were candy and nuts, then we would all have a damn good christmas ” lol ….
If the roof was only closed because of the darkness, that’s wrong. Other outdoor tournaments manage with floodlights and no roof.
Al, I totally agree, and as you said, last year’s second Wimby semis should not even have started because it was predictable that the remaining daylight wasn’t enough. Having to close the roof in order to get illumination is a ridiculous design flaw of Wimby’s roof! And it goes totally against the often stated traditional philosophy of the organizers who have always rejected all suggestions of having an illumination system installed in order to extend the time of daily play. They argued that Wimby always was and should remain a day time event.
Last year they have thrown this idea out of the window!
Yeah, the roof should be for the change in weather conditions, not for darkness or playing at night when floodlights would solve the darkness problem.
The FO, I think they have a roof that allows wind to come in from the four sides, at least that makes it a semi outdoor feel, and not totally enclosed feel.
I’m Glad that Rafa has improved his game to play so well indoors at the DC for a start. For his own sake, he should continue to play that way throughout a season, as with roofs being built almost everywhere and getting more and more in use due to bad weather, if he can’t get used to indoor conditions, he’ll be hard done by it.
Yeah, and might even count against him in the GOAT debate, for those who are interested.
Nope, Al, Rafa is already firmly entrenched in the GOAT race😉 His indoor statistics won’t detract anything and his superior outdoor statistics over Fed won’t add anything substantial. It just something which shows that their respective strengths are very different.
I agree with you that it was very wrong that Wimby closed the roof solely because of darkness, and even if Rafa had won that match I would still think that it was wrong. We fans don’t always look through our bias tinted glasses☺
As you said, the AO and the USO both leave the roof open after dark if the weather conditions are ok because the lights aren’t connected with the roof. That’s a serious flaw of the Wimby roof, and since it’s an outdoor tournament they should reschedule when it gets too dark rather then closing the roof!
The other thing is that both semis used to be played during the day,at the same time, on centre and no 1 court.That was another tradition gone against.
Yes, I remember that the scheduling of the semis was handled that way. At the FO it used to be like that, too, a while ago. IMO it makes a lot of sense because it creates far more equal conditions for both eventual finalists, since the off-time before the final isn’t influenced by the schedule but solely by the length each finalist needs for winning his match. And the weather conditions are equal, too. But this very sensible arrangement has been abandonned at all four slams by now in order to get paid for more tv covering, since the tennis fans in front of the screen have the option to follow both consecutive matches live – if they have enough time and patience. But I remember that in the past the semi which had not been covered live was broadcasted later in full length and the fans didn’t really miss anything. And in these days of cable and satellite tv it’s possible anyway to show both matches live simultaniously and the fans who have a suscription can choose which one to follow live, and they can watch the other match later.
There are a lot of organization changes which are motivated by trying to please the spectators and making more money. But it isn’t always good for the athlets and the sport.
I watch nearly all my tennis on catchup in the evening, after work, so agree with all that. Its different for the tournament organisers who are trying to make as much money as possible by having day and night sessions.
Which might be OK in the heat of the USA and Down Under Summers but we don’t really want to see Wimby and RG played at night.
Big Al, I also have a hard time to think about night sessions at Wimby and RG – especially since it’s very light until late in the evening. A lot of tennis can be played during day time.
On the other hand, the night sessions at the AO and the USO are often very special. I guess we would eventually get used to changes 😉 But I truly hope that the use of the roof will be less arbitrary than it has been in the past.
What’s wrong with this website?
Other than posts not always getting through then nothing ….
Alison,✌
Yes Alison.
2018 wimby was robbed from Rafa and closure will be only when Rafa robs a similar very close match from Novak .the 2012 ao loss was paid back at rg 13 semi..I’m awaiting for the 2018 wimby payback…without a roof it would have been 20 15 now Rafa: Novak…however Rafa did choke too..he still had bps yet did not convert n still could be the winner .third set sp..fifth set bps .Rafa had chances .that loss stung me very bad
Exactly, and I do feel that Djoko could save all those BPs with his serves which didn’t miss and that’s helped by indoor conditions ie no wind.
Rafa was really hard done by the Wimbledon organisers, when they started the match with the roof closed, even though there’s still sunlight and no rain! Also, the match continued next day should be in outdoor conditions!
I hope too that Rafa will be able to get back one from Djoko come 2020, the loss to Djoko in 2018 Wimbledon was harder to swallow than the loss to Fed the following year, because Fed played excellently whilst Rafa not so in 2019.
I wouldn’t say that Rafa was robbed. The roof might’ve indeed tilted the match in Novak’s favor. But Rafa also failed to see it through, and in the end both players had to cope with the same conditions. Novak did cope better than Rafa. That’s it. We will never know how it would have played out without the roof.
I’m more peeved about the silly scheduling and the fact that the roof was closed on both days although the weather was fine! The match has been turned into an indoor night session on the first day and it was continued as an indoor match in the next day. And that wasn’t warranted at all by the weather and was totally against all tradions of Wimbledon!
Also, Nole got super confident after that win. Until that point, he was struggling lot from slump.
Imo Djoko was very lucky to have won both 2018 and 2019 Wimbledon, as he’s helped by the organisers in 2018 and by Fed in 2019. He was getting out of a slump in 2018, and watching him the whole tournament in 2018, he had not given me the feel that’s he dominating the field at Wimbledon. It’s unlike 2011 or 2014/2015 (though he was pushed to five sets by Marin or Anderson back then, but both of them were playing on their best surface), and he certainly played better against Fed back then.
Both Rafa and Fed were a bit unfortunate not to win their respective match vs Djoko at Wimbledon; it would then be 14 Djoko, 20 Rafa and 21 Fed.
Yes, I agreed that Novak had a tremendous amount of luck at Wimby 2018 and 2019. IMO more in this year’s final than in last year’s semis. This year Fed failed spectacularly to end a match which was as good as won. Last year Novak was a tiny bit better in coping with the given circumstances than Rafa.
But in both cases we should concede tust Novak was incredibly tenacious and never gave Up.
Your last sentence is the most important one. A lot of ‘luck’ is just that. What about AO 2012, US Open 2010 against Fed ?
Nole winning all of those.
Or USO2011 against Fed? It’ seems that Djoko more lucky vs Fedal than they vs Djoko!
Or we could say Nole was unlucky at RG 2013, but Nadal fans would say otherwise…
Djoko no such luck vs Stan, other than AO2013 and USO2014 (both went five sets), he had been losing to Stan at the slams, once in five sets (AO2014), the rest of their three encounters (FO2015, USO2016, USO2019) were not so complicated.
Stan was the nemesis of Djoko at the slams, Fedal weren’t. In fact Djoko was the nemesis of Fedal at the slams in this ending decade.
Or I would say, Djoko being the nemesis of Rafa at the slams after 2013. They were 3-3 at the slams from 2011-2013; there on, Djoko seemed to have the upper hand, 3-1 Djoko from 2014-2019.