Nadal Defeats Federer at Wimbledon
Reasons Why Nadal Managed to Transfer His Form On Clay to Grass.
Nadal’s rise to the top has seemed inevitable since he exploded on to the scene with his first of four consecutive French Open victories in 2005. Nadal’s boundless energy, hard hitting ground strokes and sheer determination to succeed have made him a terrifying force in world tennis over the last three years. However, Nadal’s inability to transfer his displays on clay to grass has meant he has failed to earn the tag as the world’s greatest player. That all changed on Sunday as Nadal defeated Federer to become the first man since the legendary Bjorn Borg in 1980 to hold both the French Open and Wimbledon trophies at the same time.
There had been signs that 2008 was going to be Nadal’s year. Although there was no surprise that he continued his monopoly at Roland Garros, the nature of Nadal’s destruction of Federer at the French Open suggested the power was shifting. Nadal then won the Artois Championships, highlighting how he could transfer his French Open form onto grass. He breezed through the early stages of Wimbledon with a power and panache that he reproduced in the final to end Federer’s run of 65 unbeaten matches on grass.
It cannot be said that Federer played badly on Sunday as he did at the French Open; he simply ran into a better player. Nadal is a nightmare for opposition players to play against. His speed around the court and sheer desire to make every shot means that opponents are often bullied into mistakes. His heavy top spin forehand is the best shot in tennis, able to generate immense power and find the tightest angles. Nadal has added to these attributes this year. He now has a service game to match the best, and his backhand is vastly improved. Against Federer, the mighty Majorcan highlighted his growing tactical awareness, constantly serving to Federer’s backhand and mixing up his powerful ground strokes with a subtle slice. Although Nadal is still relatively weak at the net, his other attributes mean he very rarely needs to come forward. Most importantly, Nadal managed to transfer all of these attributes from clay on to the greatest grass stage, as emphatically demonstrated on Sunday.
As for Federer, he is and will continue to be a great champion. Against Nadal he showed grit and determination to take the match into five sets after being two sets down. He also showed the elegant touches that have graced the Centre Court for five years. His performance at Wimbledon did not signal that his powers were fading; it signalled that there was a man at the other side of the net who had surpassed his talents.
