Style meets strength as Federer faces Nadal
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/articles/2005-06-01/200506011117625336053.html
Style meets strength as Federer faces Nadal
By Matt Cronin
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Top ranked Roger Federer frequently talks about playing against history, but
in his semifinal confrontation against Rafael Nadal on Friday, he will be
playing against the present and the future in the form of an 18-year-old
Spanish sensation.
This is the confrontation the world has been looking forward to since the
draw was announced nearly two weeks ago: the majestic number one who owns
every Grand Slam title except for Roland Garros, against the season's biggest
breakout player and most accomplished clay-courter.
Since losing in the Australian Open semifinals in a classic five-setter to
Marat Safin, Federer has had his eyes set on this crown. He's really only
lost three matches of consequence since falling to three-time French champ
Gustavo Kuerten here last year: to Tomas Berdych at the Olympics, to Safin in
Australia and to Richard Gasquet in Monte Carlo.
During that time, he racked up his second Wimbledon title, the US Open crown,
the year-ending MastersCup title and back to back titles at the ATP Masters
Series Indian Wells and Miami. Last month, he won his second straight title
on red clay at AMS Hamburg.
He's proved that he has largely figured out the vagaries of clay, but has yet
to show that he can win seven straight three-out-of-five set matches in
Paris. But he's won five in a row coming into Friday and is very close to
proving that he's the most complete player since Andre Agassi - the last man
to win all four majors on four different surfaces.
On Tuesday, after Federer brought out all the shots in his arsenal against
the talented Romanian, Victor Hanescu in a straight set win, the Swiss was
happy with his campaign.
"You have various stages in the tournament like this," Federer said. "The
first round you're a bit nervous, it's a difficult hurdle, you haven't played
on those courts for a year and you have to get adjusted. Everything depends
on your game, so you play safe. You don't send your shots too close to the
lines, for instance. And then in the second round you are more adjusted, but
you're meeting people that are more difficult to play, and, therefore, your
level of game has to go up.
"I think that [against Hanescu] I can be pleased. It was one of my best
matches ever. This is why I can say that I'm quite pleased with my level of
tennis. It's very important to keep that level, and I'm going to use these
two days [off] as best as possible."
But Federer knows that he'll have to show even more against Nadal, who owns
five clay court titles this year, including the ATP Masters Series Monte
Carlo and Rome crowns, and who has sped through his five matches in Paris.
Nadal has leapt over his trickiest hurdles, including the talented French
teen Richard Gasquet, the wily French veteran Sebastian Grosjean and on
Tuesday, his super-steady friend and countryman, David Ferrer. But Nadal also
realizes that against Federer, he can't afford to even have the smallest
lapses.
"If I play like I did [against Ferrer], I do have the possibility of
winning," Nadal said. "If I don't play at my best level, well, it's going to
get complicated."
The two have played twice before: in Miami in 2004, when Nadal stunned the
Swiss, and in the 2005 Miami final, when Federer came back from two sets down
in an impressive 2-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
There, Nadal tangoed for two and half sets, combining ferocious forehands
with picture perfect passing shots. But the 23-year-old Federer is a much
more experienced player, and kept mixing up his attack until he wore the
18-year-old down mentally.
"Throughout five sets you definitely get a feeling for what kind of and type
of player is he. I think I've learned how to play him," Federer said of their
recent Miami final. "Because in the beginning I didn't really play very well
at all, and he took advantage of that. So I had to fight my way back. In the
end, I was I felt the fitter player. He looked extremely tired in the fifth,
and that kind of surprised me. But now we're on clay. Rallies can be even
tougher. I think we can expect the same, tough rallies and hard hitting."
Red clay is a substantially different surface than hard courts and one that
the Mallorcan was born and bred on. He's in tremendous shape, as evidenced by
his five-hour, five-set win over Guillermo Coria in the Rome final. Plus,
after winning Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, the Spaniard is much more
confident now that he can win important matches on the big platforms. The
question is, can he show his consistent best on the world's largest clay
court stage: Court Philippe Chatrier?
The Spaniard will turn 19 on Friday, so maybe he'll mature a year in just one
dramatic day in arguably the most important match of his young life.
"I don't want to think that way because I don't want to put extra pressure on
myself," Nadal said. "But, obviously, it's an important match and a wonderful
match to play. I hope I'll enjoy it. A final would be unbelievable for me -
especially at 19."
Federer realizes that like in Miami, he'll have to vary his attack, make sure
to get into Nadal's backhand and take some big cuts at his second serves. The
three-time Grand Slam titlist knows what it takes to win under pressure.
He'll try his hardest to make the young teen feel the weight of the occasion.
If he does, the Swiss will be the heavy favorite entering the final. If he
doesn't, the fourth Spanish champion in the past seven years might be crowned
on Sunday.
"He's showing really that he deserves to be No. 1," Nadal said. "And even on
clay, he's really good. But now I'm in the semifinal, and so I've got my own
objective. My objective, in fact, was to be here in the semifinal. I'm going
to try to play calmly, and obviously it would be wonderful to win. I think I
might be able to win - at least that's what I'm going to go for, even if it's
going to be a tough match."
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