FED AND NADAL SET FOR EPIC SEMI-FINAL
Nadal and Federer can deliver epic semi-final
IT ended in near darkness amid an explosion of camera flashes, and John McEnroe described it as the best match he has ever seen. If today’s long-awaited sequel to the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal comes near to its billing, Centre Court will come alight again this afternoon.
What will not happen is it ending in near darkness. That was the case in the classic raininterrupted affair of 11 years ago, which concluded, thrillingly, in the gloaming. Financial crises and prime ministers have come and gone since then and, more parochially, Wimbledon has added a roof or two, meaning there will be no delays.
That was just part of the drama as Nadal held off the Federer fightback from two sets down to win 9-7 in the decider.
‘ I was lucky enough that people used to talk about the match I had with Bjorn Borg in 1980 but this one, everything surrounding it, the way it ended, the quality of tennis, to see Rafa finally get his first Wimbledon, was amazing,’ said McEnroe.
Aside from the roof, the character of the court is not what it used to be back then, with the general consensus being that the conditions are slower. That is one reason why you suspect the most likely outcome of today’s events is a Nadal versus Novak Djokovic final.
In the first eliminator of this afternoon the Serb will face another Spanish baseliner, Roberto Bautista Agut, the man who planned his stag do for this weekend. While the pace of the court may have slowed,
the way the game is played has quickened, with players being more aggressive.
Federer contemplated this change as he prepared for what will be the 40th meeting of the rivalry that refuses to die.
‘You used to play more of a waiting game,’ said the Swiss. ‘Now you get the impression, and with the women too, every shot is an opportunity to do damage and finish the rally. Everything has all become a bit more hectic.
‘You have to remember — stay calm. It’s OK to just get a ball back and neutralise your opponent. At that time there were a lot more rallies. Back then, you could hit a crosscourt shot, but it wasn’t mega-hard and you could get to the net. It was the classic Tim Henman — he did it thousands of times in the match.
‘You could play on the service line and then get to the net, that’s no longer the case.’
However things have altered, a key to the longevity of Federer and Nadal is that they have adapted and constantly improved and refined their games.
The Nadal serve is stronger, for example, and the Federer backhand is more versatile and powerful, using a bigger racket head.
The Swiss will need to have an outstanding serving day to fire up his 1-2 combinations and punch holes in Nadal’s remarkable defence. Federer was 26 and the Spaniard 22 when they last played at SW19, but their series goes all the way back to 2003. They have grown up together.
Over that time their off- court relationship has developed into a state of cordial truce and mutual respect.
Another example of this will come in February next year when they meet for a charity exhibition match in Cape Town before an expected crowd of around 50,000.
Nadal is on Federer’s Team Europe in the Laver Cup event he helps promote in Geneva this September, an invitation that has been declined by Djokovic. There is no doubt that the two of them are closer to each other than they are to the Serb, and it is surely he who will await the winner in Sunday’s final after a Friday for which tickets were yesterday changing hands at nearly £8,000 a pair.
A year on from the tournament which dragged him out of his 2018 slump, Djokovic looks a racing certainty to face the winner.
The No 23 seed, Bautista Agut, is a talented hitter who does not give matches away, but it would be a seismic upset if he was not free to belatedly join in his pre-wedding festivities by this evening.