Ricky Dimon

• Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 - Live Commentary

  2008-04-28 09:53:00
  

  For whoever missed the Monte-Carlo Masters Series final, this is Ricky’s live blog he kept during the Federer-Nadal showdown.
  
  Nadal and Federer meet at the net with the chair umpire…and it’s Lars Graf! Always a good decision to have Lars in the chair for a final, especially one of this magnitude. Federer calls “heads,” wins the toss, and not surprisingly elects to receive. He says “have a good match” to Nadal as they meet at the net for a pre-match picture before they go their separate ways…with Nadal of course SPRINTING to his side of the court.
  
  Note: Nadal’s score is listed first since he served first in both sets. The asterisk indicates who is serving the next game.
  
  0-1*: Nadal comes right out of the gates making two uncharacteristic forehand errors into the net. Almost inexplicable. There’s no way Nadal should be nervous, is there? A Federer winner at the net and another Nadal forehand error give the Swiss an opening break of serve. Federer played both outstanding offense and outstanding defense in that game. What a start for Roger!
  
  1*-1: Now it’s Federer’s turn to spray errors off both sides from the baseline as he hands his break of serve right back to the Spaniard in a gift-wrapped package. Fans are eagerly anticipating the quality of play to pick up after this, um, interesting start.
  
  2-1*: That was a bit better stuff from the server, finally. Nadal threw away two easy points in the middle of the game, but in general he did a good job of maintaining control of points by striking heavy forehands deep in the court that kept Federer well behind the baseline. Usually well behind the baseline is where Nadal is hiding out.
  
  2*-2: Great response from Federer as he holds at 15. He is doing a great job now of being aggressive and forcing the issue at net. Taking Nadal out wide to the forehand side has also been working so far, and getting first serves in is starting to look like the key to this match (at least on Federer’s serve).
  
  3-2*: Nadal holds after one deuce. It should have been easier because Nadal dictated play throughout the game, but two unforced errors and one awesome Federer crosscourt forehand off the late kept Federer competitive. Roger is being very aggressive on his own service games, but he is letting himself get pinned to far behind the baseline when returning.
  
  3*-3: The unforced errors are really piling up here for both players. Federer is doing the right thing by going for it almost all the time with his forehand, but it’s beginning to break down. Nonetheless, he manages to hold after saving a break point. Three strong points from Federer to close out the game.
  
  3-4*: Federer is really heating up now and perhaps even more importantly than playing good tennis he is playing smart tennis. The Swiss breaks at 15 and has won nine of the last 12 points. Federer won two points in that game by bringing Nada into the net with dropshots and then finishing them off with winners by following the droppers into the net. He needs to keep this style up. Still, Nadal is obliging to Federer’s wishes by playing well below his normal clay standard.
  
  4*-4: Can Federer consolidate the break of serve this time? It appears no, as he donates the first two points to Nadal with terrible errors. And the answers IS no thanks in no small part to extreme luck on Nadal’s side. At 15-30 he shanked a return deep in the court that Federer could not handle and he capitalized on his first break chance with a passing shot off the net-cord.
  
  5-4*: Nadal holds comfortably. Federer blew one easy volley at the net and then for the first time in the match he came into net at an ill-advised time. A less-than-stellar slice approach shot set up an easy pass for Nadal on game point. Might Nadal be sensing the finish line of the first net now? It’s on serve, but both players have broken twice, so it’s not like Federer can count on evening this set a 5-5.
  
  5*-5: Well, he can if he serves like that. Federer bombs three straight first serves into the court to go up 4-0. But what’s this? An error and two consecutive Nadal passing shots has this thing to deuce and Nadal is just two points from the set. Federer erases that chance with a good volley followed by a good serve.
  
  6-5*: Most impressive service game yet for Nadal. He holds at love. Not much Federer could have done in that game; now it’s up to him to continue putting in first serves and send this set into a tiebreaker. The crowd is also starting to get more into this showdown.
  
  7-5: Nadal again is just two points from the set with Federer in a 0-30 hole. He’s beginning to turn this match into what it is: a CLAY-COURT match. He is punishing Federer now from the baseline with huge topspin forehands and has two set points. Wow! Nadal ends things on his first set point with a ridiculous backhand slice crosscourt passing shot off the line. It’s the most ridiculous shot I’ve seen since, well, the shot against Davydenko yesterday (you know what I’m referring to if you saw it). This is not unlike what Federer always seems to do on grass and hard courts—letting his opponent hanging around until the critical stage and then taking things up a notch, or even two notches. 11 of the last 14 points for Nadal.
  
  0-1*: Federer gets a critical break of serve to start the second set. It’s hard to imagine him being able to hold onto this advantage throughout the set, but it’s huge because clearly Federer is not going away. Nadal’s surge at the end of set one had me thinking for a second he would run away with this.
  
  0*-2: Federer is just on fire from everywhere now. Completely on fire. A swift and shocking turnaround. Don’t forget that last year in the Hamburg final he lost the first set and then destroyed Nadal 6-2, 6-0!
  
  0-3*: The only thing different now is that Nadal looks a bit distraught. Federer is still totally in the zone. He is in cruise-control mode and simply can do no wrong. Nadal almost seems resigned to a third set, surprisingly. He is also starting to go for winners too early in points as opposed to sticking to his normal clay-court tactics of wearing opponents down with grueling baseline rallies.
  
  0*-4: More of the same. We are going three!
  
  1-4*: Some good stuff from Nadal in that game, but it only delays third-set inevitability. After one long rally controlled by Nadal that Nadal finished off with a cross-court forehand, Federer let out some kind of “woohoo” sound that I assume meant “too good.” Quite funny. Clearly he is in a good mood, and for good reason.
  
  2*-4: Wow. A really, really bad game out of nowhere for Federer. Nadal is starting to pick up his game and sink his teeth into this set, but for the most part that was Federer just spraying out-of-control groundstrokes. I still think this is going three, but Federer needs to bear down and focus.
  
  3-4*: More of the same. Nadal is just being relentless from the baseline and destroying Federer’s backhand with massive topspin forehands. Federer’s forehand, out of nowhere, has also completely broken down. I’m still saying three because neither player has been able to sustain momentum for more than three games in-a-row, but now it is at least in doubt.
  
  4*-4: Just a disgusting game from Federer. Nadal breaks at love. Four errors from Federer, including three easy ones off the forehand side. Inexplicable. Nadal is playing great, yes, but this is inexplicable stuff from Roger.
  
  5-4*: Nadal is moving Federer all over the place and adding to the World No. 1’s demoralization. His forehand is overwhelming and Federer looks spent. Bad tennis, bad body language. If you’re looking for good news, Federer actually won two points that game!
  
  5*-5: The question in my mind is not whether or not Nadal will break, but how many points it will take to break. I’m saying five, meaning one point for Federer…. Nadal just pounds and pounds away at the Federer backhand and takes the first point. Only an amazing Federer volley saves him from going down 0-30. Now there is life in Federer. Incredible game out the blue and it’s 5-5. Is it now Federer’s turn for yet another drastic change in momentum?
  
  6-5*: Answer – no way. Nadal is playing like the clay-court genius that he is and only incredible stuff from Federer kept him in the match in the last game. Nadal holds at love and surely Federer will once again have to come up with amazing shots to stay in this.
  
  7-5: Federer gets up 15-0 thanks to a surprising Nadal backhand error, but now he looks downcast after losing the next two points. A much-needed first serve gets it to 30-30. Same thing to 40-30. Federer blows an easy short forehand, hitting it right back to Nadal, that would have given him the game. Another clutch serve though gives him another game point. Blows it again with a terrible forehand. Deuce. And a backhand error donates match point to Nadal. Surely Nadal will win this right here, and he does. A long rally controlled by Nadal ends with a Federer backhand long. Fitting end. Nadal collapses on the clay spread-eagle on his back as the 2008 Monte-Carlo champion!
  
  While the drastic shifts in momentum were surprising, in general what took place was not. Nadal, save for a minor hiccup here and there, sustained a consistent and impressive standard of play, as he always does on clay. When Federer plays amazing and with smart tactics, like he did early in set two, he can beat Nadal on clay. Otherwise, he can’t. It’s that simple. This is a disastrous loss for Federer based on how big of a collapse it was, but the good news is he again proved that he can dictate the outcome of a clay match Nadal. The bad news is he has to do it for a lot more than four games.

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