Mantap banget nonton final tahun ini. Congrats buat Ivanovic.
Dibanding Sharapova gue lebih demen Ivanovic. Senyumnya itu manis
banget. Apalagi ditambah gaya ngepalin tangannya.
Nadal superior banget. Gue lom pernah liat Federer dipecundangi kayak
semalem. 6-0 set ketiga! Wow! Giliran di Wimbledon ntar Federer bakal
balas dendam.
=====================================================
Early in the second set of the French Open final, not quite halfway
into what would wind up as Roger Federer's worst loss in 173 career
Grand Slam matches, he watched intently as Rafael Nadal pushed a
forehand wide to end a lengthy exchange.
Federer saw the ball land out, punched the air and yelled. Neither the
exact words—English? French? Swiss German?—nor the precise
sentiment—delight? relief?—could be discerned. That he would be so
moved was noteworthy in itself.
A man who has won 12 major championships, who has been ranked No. 1 a
record 227 weeks in a row, who has placed himself squarely in any
discussion about the greatest players in tennis history, found
significance in the winning of one measly point.
Why?
Because Nadal so thoroughly, so untheatrically, outplayed Federer in
every possible facet Sunday, beating him 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 to win a fourth
consecutive title at Roland Garros.
During the trophy ceremony following the most lopsided men's final at
the French Open since 1977, and at any Grand Slam since 1984, Nadal
felt compelled to say: "Roger, I'm sorry."
ADVERTISEMENT
"He dominated from the first point until the end," said Federer, who
hadn't lost a 6-0 set since 1999, and hadn't won fewer than five games
in a match since 2002. "It's the strongest Rafa that I've ever seen.
He was more dominant than the previous years."
Federer, much to his chagrin, is in perfect position to make that
comparison. For the fourth year running, he came to Paris needing a
French Open championship to complete a career Grand Slam, something
only five men have accomplished.
In 2005, Federer reached the semifinals, then lost to Nadal.
In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Fededer went a step further, reaching the
final, then came up short against his nemesis every time.
Think of it this way: Over the past four French Opens, Federer is 0-4
against Nadal, 23-0 against anyone else. Or this way: Federer is a
combined 12-0 in finals at Wimbledon (beating Nadal the last two
years), the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, and 0-3 in finals at
the French Open.
"He no longer plays short balls, the way he did in the past. You can
no longer attack him on his forehand, the way I could in the past,"
said Federer, now 6-11 overall against Nadal, 1-9 on clay. "He is
getting much more aggressive, and it's becoming much more difficult."
That said, Federer insisted afterward he can win the clay-court major
championship.
"I still go out of this tournament with a positive mind-set," he said.
"Not with a mind-set: 'Oh my God, I had no chance today."'
That might be. But had Federer figured out a way to win, it would have
been considered an upset. Sound silly? The top-ranked player wins a
match, and it's an upset?
Well, yes. Do not forget how invincible Nadal is on clay, and at this
tournament. He's the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the
French Open without dropping a set, the first since Borg from 1978-81
to win the tournament four years in a row.
Sunday's victory also makes Nadal:
— 28-0 for his career at the French Open;
— 115-2 on clay since April 2005;
— 22-1 in clay-court finals.
Spain's Rafael Nadal, right, s…
AP - Jun 8, 1:11 pm EDT
"I am humble," Nadal said, "but the numbers are the numbers."
His match statistics against Federer were stunning, the sort that make
you want to go back and reread them.
Nadal held break points in 10 of Federer's 11 service games,
converting eight times. He won the point 24 of the 42 times Federer
went to the net. He won 16 of the 24 points that lasted 10 or more
strokes, according to an unofficial tally compiled by The Associated
Press.
Most tellingly, Federer finished with 35 unforced errors, Nadal with
seven. Yes, seven.
"When I was playing," Nadal said, "I didn't believe the match is like this."
There were times it seemed that Federer couldn't figure out how to
play. Try serve-and-volley? Nadal picked the perfect place for a
passing shot. Try to hang behind the baseline and trade groundstrokes?
Nadal scrambled around, playing defense, until the opportunity arose
to switch to offense, and with a grunt and an uppercut of a forehand,
the 22-year-old Spaniard would flick a winner.
Defending champion Spain's Raf…
AP - Jun 8, 12:35 pm EDT
Unlike, for example, the 2007 Wimbledon final—filled with artistry
and grit from both players until Federer won in five sets—only Nadal
played with elan Sunday.
"To lose the way I did today—it's obviously hard and it's a rough
loss, but it's OK," Federer said, a blue baseball cap pulled low over
his eyes. "I'll move forward from here, and I'll try again."
Nadal recognized it was not Federer's finest day.
"If I am playing my best tennis ever, I'm never going to win 6-1, 6-3,
6-0 against Roger Federer, no? For sure, it's impossible," the
second-ranked Nadal said. "He didn't play very well. Everybody knows
that."
For one fleeting moment, Federer appeared to have a chance to make
things interesting. After breaking Nadal for the only time, and later
holding serve without facing a break point for the only time, Federer
pulled even in the second set at 3-3. The match was an hour old, and
finally the tiniest hint of drama broke through the gray clouds.
In the next game, Nadal—gasp!—frittered away two forehands, allowing
Federer to get within one point of a 4-3 lead. Nadal, however, brought
it back to deuce, ending an 18-stroke point with a drop shot that
Federer reached but slapped into the net.
Defending champion Spain's Raf…
AP - Jun 8, 12:23 pm EDT
Federer lost the following two points by missing forehands. And that,
essentially, was that. The man who stands two Grand Slam titles shy of
Pete Sampras' record would not win another game, losing the last nine.
"I don't know whether he didn't have a good feel for his shots or if
he was over-thinking," said Nadal's coach and uncle, Toni. "What I see
is that he's missing a bit of self-confidence. He never looked
comfortable. Maybe it's a mental block."
Could be.
"To beat Rafa on this type of surface, you need to play your best
tennis," said Borg, who watched from a front-row seat. "But Roger's
going to be back. And so will Rafa."
Borg, who thinks Nadal could break his mark of six French Open titles,
was among the tournament's past champions who stood on court Sunday
during a prematch ceremony marking the stadium's 80th anniversary:
Guillermo Vilas, Gustavo Kuerten, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Mary Pierce
and others also were there.
Among the uninvited, seeing as how they never won a singles title at
Roland Garros: Sampras, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker.
His outward optimism aside, Federer could be forgiven if, deep down,
he wonders whether he ever will be asked to participate in such
festivities, whether he ever will get past Nadal at the French Open.
Glum as he was after the match, Federer already was thinking about
2009.
"I mean, after a loss like this, you don't want to play Rafa again
tomorrow, that's for sure," the 26-year-old Federer said.
And yet, seconds later, he added: "Let's see what happens again next year."
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