Roger Federer in 2006 won ninety-two matches out of ninety-seven. Twelve tournaments out of seventeen. Three Grand Slam tournaments out of four. Finally, the final Masters tournament Cup in Shanghai. Federer could print his statistics of victories, laminate and, as they say in kindergarten, "be proud until the end of his life." If not for one “but” - the balance of meetings between the Swiss and Rafael Nadal.
For a year Federer met with the Spaniard six times and won only twice - in the Wimbledon finals and in the semi-finals of the tournament that just ended. And it seems that this last victory, which did not immediately become a prize, is much more expensive for Federer than the title itself. The Swiss, in fact, is one step away from the status of the golfer Tiger Woods, personifying the whole sport. However, it is much more important for him not to dominate every tournament in no alternative, but to have an incentive for further development.
Such an incentive can be - and is - only the game of the 20-year-old Nadal, who is much less stable over a long tournament distance, but the only real opponent of Federer in personal confrontation. Roger, it seems, has not been distinguishing his rivals too much lately, preferring not to tune “according to the player,” but simply to play his impeccable tennis - this is always enough. But the explosive Nadal in the individual components of the game progresses faster than Federer. Therefore, their meetings are fraught with the only possible challenge for the Swiss - will he be able to move from a general scheme, which in the case of the Spaniard does not always work, to a special way of playing. Personal - against Nadal.
The Shanghai semifinal did not become conclusive evidence that he could. Nadal did not have time to fully recover after a difficult match with Davydenko, where he was also injured. Although he served better Federer, but the general physical condition of the Spaniard was noticeably worse. Federer did not have to show all his trump cards - it was enough to hone the backhand, without which going to court against the left-handed Nadal would be like death. When, after the match, the Swiss was surprised at his play on the left, the usually restrained Federer did not limit himself to formality: “Yes, I took into account the strengths of Nadal, and now I have something to oppose them. Maybe now Rafael should think about improving the game? ”
From Federer’s lips you don’t hear this often. Which only confirms his focus on rivalry with Nadal. And his carefully concealed non-motivation in other matches. In fact, what incentives can there be if for a story about the Masters finale Cup enough two sentences? First: Federer rival James Blake could not score a point for 34 minutes. Second: the score of the match is 6: 0, 6: 3, 6: 4.
Ivan Kalashnikov