First on clay. Now on grass.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be facing each other in a second straight Grand Slam semifinal–a relative streak by this rivalry’s recent standards–when they meet again at Wimbledon on Friday afternoon.
Nadal leads the head-to-head series 24-15, but Federer holds a 13-10 edge on surfaces other than clay. The Swiss has won two of their three previous grass-court encounters, all of which have come in Wimbledon finals. He prevailed 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 in 2006 and 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2 in 2007 before Nadal triumphed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 in perhaps the greatest match ever played in 2008.
“(I’m) excited to be back on this court against him after 11 years,” said the Spaniard. “(It) means a lot for me and probably for him, too. (I’m), excited about this match, excited about this opportunity to be again against him.”
Following those three consecutive showdowns from 2006 through 2008, the two all-time greats suddenly went 10 years without colliding a single time at the All-England Club. In fact, they did not square off at any slam in between the 2014 and 2017 Australian Opens or at any slam in between the 2017 Australian Open and 2019 French Open. Nadal predictably dominated 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Roland Garros semis en route to his 18th major title and now he and Federer are going at it again just one month later.
It is Federer’s turn to have proverbial home-court advantage this time around. The 37-year-old has won eight of his 20 major titles at the All-England Club and he has been to the final on three other occasions. Federer has improved his lifetime Wimbledon record to 100-12 following victories this fortnight over Lloyd Harris (four sets), Jay Clarke, Lucas Pouille, Matteo Berrettini, and Kei Nishikori (four sets).
Nadal is certainly no slouch in London, with two titles and three runner-up performances. The world No. 2 is 5-1 in Wimbledon semifinals, having lost only to Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-8 last summer in a contest that lasted two days because of the preceding Kevin Anderson vs. John Isner match followed by eventual darkness. Nadal finds himself back in the semis thanks to defeats of Yuichi Sugita, Nick Kyrgios (four sets), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Joao Sousa, and Sam Querrey.
“It’s going to be tough,” Federer assured. “Rafa really can hurt anybody on any surface. I mean, he’s that good. He’s not just a clay-court specialist, we know…. I feel like conditions were slightly different (at the French Open),” he continued when asked if any past matches against Nadal would have any impact on Friday’s outcome. “It was so windy; it was just insane. I haven’t heard it was going to be the same, so I hope not, even though that would be funny again.”
Actually, conditions should be just about perfect–good news for both players but especially music to Nadal’s ears since the roof will be open, which was not the case when he fell to Djokovic in 2018.
Federer also noted that current form would have more to with the upcoming result than head-to-head history. Neither factor, however, favors the No. 2 seed. Although he is without question playing stellar tennis, Nadal has been ruthless throughout the event and has posted more convincing wins over tougher grass-court opposition. Although grass obviously levels the playing field, it should not completely tip the scales away from another Nadal victory.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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Benny, where are you! Please weigh in here! 😁 Joe- you too! I like hearing your take!
Great posts for Happy. You make me happy, Happy. Thanks. And you speak truth, imo.
I didn’t think Federer would win today. No freaking way did I think it, feel it or pick it, but I’m watching the 4th set now and I see it. I have underestimated Federer since 2010. And nine years later he’s still in the top three.
Congrats and apologies to Fed fans here if I have offended for counting out the Federer on various occasions. I’m humbled 🙇♀️
Congrats to the Rafa fans because on no account is he done. He, I thought did appear the strongest of the three throughout this fortnight. May we see Rafa contesting the US Open, more Wimbledons, and AO’s. What a total insane GOAT he is at Roland Garros!! 😀
Happy thinks Nole will win tomorrow but as a Nole fan (the Lone Ranger fan here) I’m not sure. I won’t count Fed out.
Ajde Nole for #16 is my #1 pick. But allez Fed for a ridiculous 9th Wimbledon if it’s to be his day. There will be Champagne popping tomorrow, either way.
Oh how wrong my predictions can be! lol
I think it’s very hard for people, when picking winners, to overlook history. And of course Novak is the world #1 and has won 3/4 previous slams. But the final is on Federer’s racket. I’ll note again that I did NOT say that about his match against Nadal; that’s because Rafa was playing a totally different, attacking style of tennis this Wimbledon. He tried again, imo, but Fed was just better at it than him today.
Novak, however, is basically playing his same backboard style of tennis, with a slightly greater willingness to come forward than in the past. His overall level, including his serve and ROS, is lower than his previous best, though obviously still very good. However, an attacking style such as Fed displayed today will beat him, no question in my mind. Some of posts above such as Happy’s are absolutely hilarious, imo. RBA was able to take a set off Novak, even when the former was less than his best. And Federer is going to get destroyed? Please. If he plays like today, he could well win in straight sets.
Will he? We’ll soon find out. But as I said in my previous post, the key, I think is mental. And Fed played the entire match today with an absolute calm, looking utterly secure in his abilities. I actually think he played with pretty much the same mentality in the RG SF, even though he was cleanly beaten. I will be amazed if he doesn’t bring that same demeanor to the final, and I predict it will take him to the title. Fed in 4.
It’s a shame, Happy says something that gives me hope and happiness and Joe snatches that away calling Happy silly. 🤨
Novak in 4 or 5
Sorry, Elizabeth, but do you think:
“Let’s not deceive ourselves: Novak will destroy Fed as usual”
is a measured assessment, either in substance or tone? Why is it a “shame” that a Fed fan (or even an objective observer) would think that was hilarious?
So? I liked hearing it from Happy. I’ll take any positives I can get for my favorite. I don’t get much reading here or other media and I get angry. I hate the US Open for their horrible behavior. Wimbledon is not usually as bad but it was bad today. Fedal are the media darlings. I certainly don’t hate either of them or Serena but I am naturally for the underdog not just in tennis but in general.
If I go to twitter I do find support for Nole there. But those fans have left these pages.
Laugh at me and think what you will. I believe Nole will win.
But it will be under extremely difficult circumstances.
If he doesn’t – I’ll throw myself at appreciating Federer’s 9th. With Rafa I completely accept that he’s got the FO. But it’s happiest for me when Nole wins – simple as that.
Elizabeth, I’m one who think Djoko will win his no. 16 on Sunday.
Djoko is different from Rafa, he has a game that can win on any surface, not unlike Fed, so Djoko normally doesn’t have much problem transitioning from clay to grass. Rafa OTOH plays the clay court game on clay and so he has to do some adjustments to his game when playing on other surfaces.
Djoko has the tools to neutralise Fed’s attacking imo. Also, he doesn’t have any mental block against Fed, having won their previous two encounters here.
Djoko should be winning his 5th Wimbledon come this Sunday. A recent article at tennis.com wrote about who’s next to dominate Wimbledon, after Borg, then Sampras, and then Fed. Despite Djoko winning it four times, the writer didn’t think he’s dominating at Wimbledon. A fifth title if it comes this Sunday, perhaps would confirm Djoko’s dominance there and adds him to that dominance list?
That’s fine. I’m a big Novak fan myself, although I’m obviously cheering for Fed in this one. I just thought the way Happy put it was a bit flippant and arrogant. I imagine if I had said something similar denigrating Nadal or Novak, lots of people here would jump on me.
I just don’t see how any honest observer could think the outcome of the final was that obvious, so I think some who confidently puts forward such tosh deserves ridicule and scorn.
lol, I hear plenty of flippant and arrogant remarks, perceptions, and predictions about Novak Djokovic. Usually I’m quiet about it but right now I would prefer to watch him win #16. Maybe I’m resentful about the fact that he will not get the love and support Federer gets tomorrow. I don’t like to watch that. But I don’t blame Federer and I understand Fed Fans deeply want this GS win for him. And since I am a tennis fan I will respect Fed’s win.
It’s just nice to hear another voice for Novak on these pages. I should think you’d understand, since this is mostly a Rafa Nadal family on TG. You are one of a few Federer fans here. I think most people here would have wanted Rafa’s 19th GS and 3rd Wimbledon.
None of the Big 3 are done. I am guilty of counting Federer as done tho. And he surprised me again. Happy for you…happy for him 😀
Maybe the best man win in 4 or 5 sets. We don’t want a wet blanket of a final, do we?
I have always liked Novak and never understood why others don’t like him. I think he is genuine, in everything from the roars and occasional outbursts, to the applauding others’ shots, to the grass-eating and shirt-ripping when he wins the title. I don’t find his tennis the most exciting, but have massive respect for his ability.
However, I have never counted him the same rival to Fed as Nadal is. I think Federer underestimated him for awhile, and never gave Novak props for his incredible USO wins in 2010-11. But I think Fed’s game shapes up well against his, and I chalk up the 2014-15 losses mainly to Fed’s mental blocks at not having won a slam for awhile and worrying that he wouldn’t win another.
Absolutely I hope for a close final, and I expect it will be. If Novak wins, I will be very happy for him and for you.
How can you (or Federer) not consider Novak Djokovic as a rival equal to Rafa? At first sure, but by now? Novak is as much a rival to Federer as Rafa is. You know the history.
Who doesn’t love a good Fedole match. Probably it’s my favorite rivalry.
Respect for Nole? He’s world number ONE – at least for now. This is the very reason Novak fans get a chip on their shoulder (whatever the figure of speech is) I certainly don’t feel warm and fuzzy when I hear that kind of talk!
All I meant by that was that Fed’s record against Novak is much more even than against Nadal (mostly because of clay), and I think it’s only in that 2014-16 period that Novak had the edge. We’ll soon find out if it continues; I just think that Fed’s mental game has improved since then, and that that will be enough to get him the win. But I would not be terribly surprised if I turn out to be wrong.
Before the tournament I said that if Nadal runs through his projected nightmare draw to take the title, on probably his weakest surface, it would be the greatest slam title ever.
I’ll now agree with you that if Fed beats Novak in the final it will be the GSOAT considering:
1. Novak and Rafa are the top two players in the world, having shared the last five slams between them.
2. Fed has never beaten them both in the same slam, let alone on the way to the title.
3. Fed would be the oldest slam champ in the open era, barely a month shy of 38.
Just thought I’d point out that in the last 4 majors, the player who defeated Kei Nishikori went on to win the title. 🤔🤷♂️😂
Yes, Sanju has superstitiously noted this previously.
Belated congratulations to Fed fans. Now that the loser troll is gone, I feel able to sincerely give my congratulations. I have seen the entire match and Fed deserved to win. He is still doing amazing things at this stage of his career.
Thanks NNY, and Amy for her heartfelt congrats also.
I’m as humbled as anyone,I really never saw that. But Joe deserves the kudos, he ‘s been reminding us how big a difference Feds new racquet and BH are now, compared to 2008.
Thanks, Al. In Rafa’s presser, he singled out Fed’s ability to take the ball on the rise, which in Nadal’s opinion Roger does better than anyone else. In my opinion, the larger racket helps Fed in that respect more than any other except maybe the serve. There’s just more margin for error.
So in those Nadal FH to Fed BH cross-court rallies, Fed is able to step inside the court more easily, and not get pinned back nearly as much as he used to. Even when he was basically blocking neutral BHs up the middle of the court, because he was taking the ball so early it takes enough time away from Rafa to make it a difficult shot to deal with.
Yes, he played a lot of shots as half-volleys which took time away from Rafa,that was one of the keys.Incredible timing needed
Big Al,
You are very welcome. There is no denying that Fed brought the goods in this match. Even how he managed to regroup after that second set was very impressive. You simply have to take your hat off to him.
😀
I call it as i see it. If nadal is playing djokovic in any tournament and stands no chance of beating him before the match starts, I will say he will lose to djokovic before the match starts and give my reasons.
I gave my reasons as to why djokovic will destroy federer on sunday. It was a fair assessment as i feel federer has a mental block against djokovic and djokovic has beaten him in their last two wimbledon finals. Federer is not beating djokovic with longer rallies and serve, djokovic is not nadal simple as that. His return of serve which is unbelievable will neutralize federer’s serve and longer rallies is his cup of tea, so federer does not have the advantage at all.
Unless djokovic decides to sleepwalk during the final, federer will win. Like I said, when was the last time djokovic lost a grand slam final to anybody not named wawrinka and nadal. Let’s be real here, recently djokovic is a very bad match up for federer. That is a fair assessment because federer hasnt beaten djokovic in any tournament let alone grand slam since the cincinnati finals 2015 (and that win was irrelevant cause djokovic beat federer in wimbledon 2014, 2015 and US open 2015). Even when he won against djokovic at the wtf in the round robin stage, djokovic beat him in the final where it mattered most.
Kevin is right and Eugene you need not worry yourself because you’ll be “happy” on sunday when your man wins. I’m being realistic here. Joe seems to have forgotten that federer was playing great tennis at wimbledon 2015 and 2014 and US open 2015 and yet when he arrived at the final, djokovic beat him in four sets each time except one of them that went to 5 sets and federer as expected collapsed in the 5th set.
Djokovic will not let federer play his game like nadal did here. He will win the long rallies and neutralize federer’s serve as usual and he will not feed federer short balls at all like nadal did. I wish I will be wrong and federer wins on sunday but as kevin put it nothing suggests otherwise. So, I’m not going to deceive myself in thinking otherwise. Sorry.
Current form suggests otherwise, Happy. And today Fed played some of the best tennis he ever has. I wouldn’t say the same about Novak. So that’s something.
Further, if I’m right that Fed’s mental block is gone, his best tennis is perfectly capable of beating Novak. Maybe if Novak summons his 2016 AO form, which was maybe the worst non-clay beat-down Fed has ever suffered, Fed should win. And even that would be close if Fed plays as he did today. He has plenty of weapons to use against Djokovic.
To be clear, I have no problem with you or anyone picking Novak to win. It’s the way you put it, as if it was a foregone conclusion that was obvious to anyone with a couple brain cells to rub together, that I thought was silly.
Well, we shall see how it goes!! As a said, let us hope for 5 sets and great tennis! So many GS finals suck because one of the finalists is too weak or injured after fighting through their draw.
Sorry NNY, I stand corrected, it was 3 US opens that nadal won beating djokovic (one of the greatest hard court players ever) twice in the finals and that’s no small feat.
When I said Eugene, i meant Elizabeth. My apologies for confusing the two.
The fact that two goats will be duking it out makes the duel so spicy and interesting
Roger wins
– he goats again in that case considering his age and the opponents he would have beaten
– he goes 3 clear again
-he gains the mental edge over both his fellow goats
-the most satisfactory if not the greatest slam title ever perhaps topped only by beating rafa and winning french
Novak wins
– 5 wimbledons and an outside chance of equalling rogers haul of 8 wimby titlea
– goes to 16 with the potential of equalling rafa considering next two are on hard
– cements position as fedal kryptonite and entrenches in head of fed further
– throws a severe dent into rogers grassgoat title having beaten him in 3 wimbly finals
Im a big Nole fan but not when he’s playing Fed , and in a Slam final , that gets magnified .
Haha! Same just replace fed with rafa
I am still not over this. Will Rafa ever get two weeks of sunshine again at Wimbledon.Sucks 🙁 If Novak wins, he will be closing in enormously with Fed both at GS numbers and weeks at #1. Unless Nadal or Fed wins the US and has a good end to the season, it wil be all assured Djokovic ends year end No.1
The only thing I do see is for Novak to achieve what he did with the number of slams and also the weeks at #1 I wouldnt have imagined it was the least possible a couple years ago. I hope Rafa does something to compete in both aspects even if for short periods.