Federer vs Nadal
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will continue their great rivalry tomorrow when they meet for the 11th time on a Grand Slam stage.
It should be an interesting match, but I thought the quarter between Murray and Federer would be as well, but that didn’t turn out to be so blockbusting. I’ve had a quiet Aussie open. Some decent results but less active than last year while I’ve been working on some key projects. The early mornings were too much for me this year, so I picked some targets. But quite a few of those just didn’t produce anything interesting. So that’s just a bit unfortunate. But I’ve gathered data on all matches to carry forward into the season. I’ve also automated more this year and that’s produce some encouraging results.
But back to the match tomorrow…..
Federer is playing well so far and came through Murray test with confidence, but surely Rafa is going to be a sterner test? Rafa leads the all-time head-to-head 22-10 but that’s biased to clay of course. Since 2005 he has gone 13-2 on clay. Rafa also leads Federer 8-6 on hard courts. Two of those have come at the Australian Open with no reply from Federer. Rafa is 14-4 vs. Federer since the start of 2008. Federer failed to record a win over Nadal last year in four meetings.
Age is a key factor as well and this plays against Federer. Most players have retired at Federers age but looking at Federer this week you wouldn’t know it. Rafa still has plenty left in the tank though and if it does become a war of attrition then Rafa will be good value. I guess the romantics will be looking for another grand slam for Federer and an all swiss final. That’s certainly possible but I’ll be weighting my start by looking at Rafa to break Federer first. Tactically Federer has done well by stepping up the court and pressuring opponents during his matches so far. But tactically I think that’s out the bag now.
Looking forward to the match!
Category: Tennis
