Double Fault

Not "let" this time, got to wait for another day to equal Sampras's record

“Federer won 174 points to Nadal’s 173, he served 6 – 8 km faster, served 11 aces in comparison to Nadal’s 4 and came up with 71 winners against the Spaniard's 50“.

What would a tennis coach say? Serve with speed and precision, move fast, make sure you manage to get your angles right and make those winners when you have an opportunity and soon you will be the next Grand Slam Champion.

But anyone who watched the match yesterday would know that the obvious as per these stats did not happen.


Rafael Nadal 7 3 7 3 6
Roger Federer 5 6 6 6 2

It was superhuman v/s supernatural; Federer’s fore hand was sublime. He kept getting those winners down the line or cross court and every time he sliced and took the pace off the ball Rafa had to collect himself to respond which he did but not as well as he would have wanted to. Nadal on the other hand did not push himself too much at the start. Ideally you would see him running from corner to corner, but after a strenuous semi final against Verdasco even the supernatural showed signs of fatigue, he got what he could with out stressing or physically draining. But then when it was needed he bounced back, Federer kept slamming and like Vijay Amrithraj commented, “The ball just bounced back every time, it felt like he was playing against a perpetual moving human wall”


Match Summary Nadal - Federer
1st Serve % 112 of 175 = 64 % - 90 of 172 = 52 %
Aces 4 - 11
Double Faults 4 - 6
Unforced Errors 41 - 64
Winning % on 1st Serve 74 of 112 = 66 % - 66 of 90 = 73 %
Winning % on 2nd Serve 30 of 63 = 48 % - 37 of 82 = 45 %
Winners (Including Service) 50 - 71
Receiving Points Won 69 of 172 = 40 % - 71 of 175 = 41 %
Break Point Conversions 7 of 16 = 44 % - 6 of 19 = 32 %
Net Approaches 15 of 26 = 58 % - 43 of 60 = 72 %
Total Points Won 173 - 174
Fastest Serve Speed 196 KMH - 204 KMH
Average 1st Serve Speed 179 KMH - 183 KMH
Average 2nd Serve Speed 143 KMH - 156 KMH

For the second time I felt emotional watching tennis. First, when Pete bid adieu to professional tennis and then yesterday when Fed smothered in front of the Aussies.

But both Federer and Nadal proved that there could be no better ambassadors to the sport,

Federer recovering from his agony rushed to the microphone for the second time and said, “I dont wanna have the last word, this man deserves it, So.. Rafa Congrads. You played incredible, you deserve it man. you played another fantastic finals so.... all the best for the season”

Nadal on the other hand walked straight to Federer after collecting his Trophy to console and started his speech with, “ First of all Roge ... sorry for today, I know how it feels but you remember you are a champion, the best and you are going to break Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam Victories for sure”. To see such great sportsmanship from Nadal was a consoling fact for an avid Federer fan like me.

Great Rivals, Great Friends... Nadal & Federer proved that tennis is a gentleman's game!

No matter how big a star you are its just a matter of time before a bigger star emerges.

- “If you got something easily, it would not matter much as anyone could get the same with little efforts”

Renald

Picture used is borrowed from www.Australianopen.com and will be removed if any objection is raised by the copyright owner.