TENNIS: 2008 French Open on the "Terre Battue" - Rafa Defeats Rog, Remains Undefeated, Ana's Champ!

[youngbuck32]

Here we go...

 

[Sinner]

Vamos Rafa!

 

[ironmanfitness]

too many unforced errors by federer on clay...i dont think he can plant his foot correctly....nadal is a machine....fed needs more control than power

 

[Sinner]

yeah... too many errors... very tentative play by Fed... and Rafa's just making it look easy... still early though...

 

[MambaMentality824]

Wow this is the worst I have seen Federer play.

 

[ironmanfitness]

yea but i dunno how hes gonnalast 3 sets with nadal...nadal is built like a machine

 

[dmv is rnb]

I dunno what drugs Federer was taking when he kept insisting that he knew that this was his time to win it

Rafa

 

[Sinner]

30 - 6 unforced errors by Fed - Nadal... thus far... he's shanked so many shots too... maybe Fed needs to switch to a midplus just for clay...

while rafa's found alll the lines...

hope rafa bagel's fed in the 3rd...

 

[darthska]

Kobe4MVP12:

---

Wow this is the worst I have seen Federer play.
Have you ever seen Federer play Nadal on clay? Nadal always does this to Federer on clay. It boggles my mind. I don't understand how a guy canbe so dominant on all surfaces against everyone... except for one surface (clay) against one guy (Nadal). It just makes no sense to me.

 

[sneakerlover88]

Wow 6-0 in the final set, did not see that coming

 

[eye see soles]

Straight sets, no games lost in the third.

Rafielago.

 

[i fr3sh i]

I dont watch or play tennis so can someone tell me whats so special about playing on clay? I mean played I played Tennis before and it was on a hardcourt so Iassume that was clay and most of the courts i see are of that surface type.

 

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

Have you ever seen Federer play Nadal on clay? Nadal always does this to Federer on clay. It boggles my mind. I don't understand how a guy can be so dominant on all surfaces against everyone... except for one surface (clay) against one guy (Nadal). It just makes no sense to me.

Well, there are several factors... first off, Nadal grew up playing on clay, while Fed probably spent his youth on hardcourts... clay courts are verydifferent in that the ball bounces slower (as compared to hard courts), which is why you see so many more rallies on clay... a player's movement on clay isalso different in that they slide into their shots, while on hard and grass courts, you run, slowdown, plant, hit, change direction... Nadal know how to readthe bounces, is a great mover on the clay and is a tremendous ball striker (the amount of spin and pace he puts on the ball is insane), which is why he'sbeen so dominant on clay... Fed, who hired a new coach just to help him out on his clay game, is a good clay court player, but if you put him up with the bestof the best, he has no chance...

in a nutshell...

Clay courts are generally a 'slow' surface... red clay is supposedly ground-up red bricks... the balls bounce slower and higher...
Hard courts are generally a 'fast' surface... usually concrete or asphalt... balls bounce lower than clay and a lot faster...
Grass courts are fast as well... grass usually causes the ball to bounce low and fast, which is why serve & volley players generally are successful ongrass...
theres also 'Carpet', which is like a concrete court with a rubbery/cushiony surface...

of course, all these courts very slightly from tournament to tournament...

 

[illmaticsoulchild]

I wish I could say I'm shocked, but I saw this one coming after Nadal waxed Djokovic. Contrary to what Federer had said, his clay court tennis didn'tlook that great, and Rafa looked much better than last year. It seemed like Federer never really got his teeth in the match, and the only way he was going tobe successful was if Rafa let him. You could just feel how much pressure was on Roger point after point. His serve wasn't that great, but a lot of that hadto do with Nadal.

Anyways, congrats to Rafa, a true class act in the sport. I agree with what Borg said. If Rafa can survive the early rounds in Wimbledon and gain enoughmomentum heading into the second week, he was very good at breaking through. Also, Roger better hope that Djokovic is on Rafa's half of the draw, because Ican't imagine Roger beating Novak then Rafa.

 

[darthska]

I FR3SH I:

---

I dont watch or play tennis so can someone tell me whats so special about playing on clay? I mean played I played Tennis before and it was on a hardcourt so I assume that was clay and most of the courts i see are of that surface type.
The number one thing is the grip (or lack of grip) on clay compared to grass or hardcourt surfaces. On grass, turf, or hardcourt, when you plantyou're running a ball down and you plant your foot to hit it, your body stops, and you hit the ball. On clay, when you're running a ball down and youplant to hit it, you slide, so you have to know how to hit the ball while moving. And you have to have a knowledge of how to shorten your slide or control yourslide so that you can hit and run back into position so your opponent doesn't hit it back to an open court while you're still recovering from yourslide.

Another difference is that the surface of a clay court picks up on the ball. Obviously, this makes no difference in a volley where very little hitting takesplace. But if there is a good volley, every time the ball hits the court, it's picking up more and more clay, weighing the ball more and more, essentiallymaking it lopsided.

And even on short volleys or aces, it's more difficult to read the bounce on clay than other surfaces. English doesn't tend to come into effect as muchon clay, so you can see how that would make a difference in reading a ball being hit to you (as opposed to reading the same hit coming at you on grass); youexpect it to slice left a certain amount, and it doesn't. And you can see how that would make a difference in hitting a ball to your opponent (as opposedto hitting the same shot to your opponent on hardcourt); you expect that it's going to slice away from them something fierce, and it doesn't.

Pretty much, Nadal is a freaking master at playing his 'footslides'. It's not like Nadal's opponents are just sliding all over the place,looking like idiots as they fall on their butts while he just maintains perfect technique; these are still professionals he's playing against, and theyknow the differences in clay as well. But he just seems to know clay so much better than anyone else, and against Federer, he just really puts all of his clayknowledge together better than he does against anyone else.

 

[tsamshox]

^on point. Nadal was playing like 5-6ft behind the baseline against Djookovic during serves just because of how high the ball jumps....

and Damn Nadal waxed Federer...too good

 

[kobe is the goat]

Dude change the title. Some people got this thing DVR'd.

 

[MambaMentality824]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

Kobe4MVP12:

---

Wow this is the worst I have seen Federer play.

Have you ever seen Federer play Nadal on clay? Nadal always does this to Federer on clay. It boggles my mind. I don't understand how a guy can be so dominant on all surfaces against everyone... except for one surface (clay) against one guy (Nadal). It just makes no sense to me.

Yes I have and I know Nadal always wins but their previous matchups on clay were at least close with Nadal pulling them out. Federer just did not seem likehis normal self today. I don't think he would have won anyway because Nadal IS that good on clay but it definitely could have been a better match.

 

[LOLOMGWTFBBQ]

I know I'm late but why did ESPN show the 2007 Wimbledon instead of the French Open?

 

[pullupj8]

Well, there are several factors... first off, Nadal grew up playing on clay, while Fed probably spent his youth on hardcourts... clay courts are very different in that the ball bounces slower (as compared to hard courts), which is why you see so many more rallies on clay... a player's movement on clay is also different in that they slide into their shots, while on hard and grass courts, you run, slowdown, plant, hit, change direction... Nadal know how to read the bounces, is a great mover on the clay and is a tremendous ball striker (the amount of spin and pace he puts on the ball is insane), which is why he's been so dominant on clay... Fed, who hired a new coach just to help him out on his clay game, is a good clay court player, but if you put him up with the best of the best, he has no chance...
Federer, like most European players, grew up on clay. It's not like he's a slouch at playing on clay. He's still the 2nd best playerin the world on clay. Rafa is just on another level on clay. And he's catching up to Roger on grass. His serve is a lot better now. And he can finishpoints with the backhand now. He's also a very underrated volleyer.

I think Rafa will breakd Borg's 6 FO titles. And I really see him getting the FO and Wimbledon double if not this year, then next year.

 

[eye see soles]

Originally Posted by DC5 06

I know I'm late but why did ESPN show the 2007 Wimbledon instead of the French Open?

The match aired on NBC.

ESPN had the time slot for the French Open afterwards, in case the match went the distance.

After the match, NBC showed the match between Rafa and Roger; ESPN just continued the programming.

 

[jdb1523]

Don't be surprised if Nadal wins at the All England Club this year too, I made that prediction a few pages back at the beginning of this tournament andI'm sticking with it.

 

[joseph camel jr]

^ Yep. He's improved tremendously IMO, and I think grass is his second-best surface behind clay. Look at how much he pushed Federer last time...Rafa looksbetter than ever, Federer not so much. I'd say a 5 set Wimbledon final with Nadal as the winner is in the cards.

On the other hand though, you know Federer's gonna give it all he has. He's not the most gracious loser, and no doubt he's upset about how he gotcrushed today.

 

[gettin it crackin]

Man, I'm a fan of Fed, but Nadal is just TOO much on clay. Amazing.

 

[acidicality]

Damn. Nadal just keeps sonning Roger on clay.