WIMBLEDON: Roger Federer is not paying any attention to his record against Rafael Nadal ahead of their blockbuster meeting at Wimbledon on Friday.
The two giants of men’s tennis are set to face each other for the 40th time on the ATP Tour. It will be their fourth meeting at The All England Club and the first since the 2008 final. When Nadal prevailed in a five-set thriller to claim his first Wimbledon title at the time. Prevailing 9-7 in the decider. The Swiss maestro trails their head-to-head 15-24 and lost to the Spaniard at the French Open in May.
“I feel like conditions were slightly different.” Federer joked about their last encounter that was hampered by gale force winds.
“I haven’t heard it was going to be the same in a couple of days, so I hope not, even though that would be funny again.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Who cares. It’s about how has (Nadal) he played so far, how have I played so far. I hope it goes my way.”
A closer look at the history between the two players does favor Nadal. He comes out on top the majority of the times they have played in grand slams (10-3), semi-finals (7-3) and even tiebreakers (11-10).
“It’s going to be tough, you know. Rafa really can hurt anybody on any surface. I mean, he’s that good. He’s not just a clay court specialist, we know.”
Nadal is relishing the task that will be ahead of him. It has been eight years since he last reached the final of the tournament. Should he do so, it would be the first time in five years he has reached the final of three consecutive majors (2013-2014).
“It is a great feeling to be back in that semifinals, be able to be playing at this level of tennis is great news. I’m very happy the way that we (me and Federer) managed to be in the (semi-final) round.’ Nadal commented during his press conference.
“Playing against Roger always is a unique situation. I’m excited to be back on this (Wimbledon) court against him after 11 years.”
Federer is under no illusion that the upcoming clash will not be similar to that of what took place 11 years ago. Citing the development of Nadal’s game over the years. As well as his age. 37-year-old Federer is the second oldest player in the top 100 and 33-year-old Nadal is the 12th.
“He’s playing very different than he used to. Haven’t played each other in a long, long time on this surface (grass).” Federer explained.
“He’s serving way different. I remember back in the day how he used to serve, and now how much bigger he’s serving, how much faster he finishes points.”
So why is Nadal serving bigger? According to information provided by IBM, at this year’s tournament, his average first serve is 126 mph and second is 117mph. Interestingly almost identical to that of Federer (127 and 116). Concerning aces, Nadal has hit 47 so far compared to Federer’s 42.
“I am running less so I need to serve better.” Stated Nadal. “I probably cannot play 20 weeks per year anymore, so I need to reschedule my planning to improve things to be very competitive every single time that I am on the court.”
The semi-final clash will take place on Friday
A break down of the rivalry
-Grand slam matches: Nadal leads 10-3
-Masters Cup/Tour Finals: Federer leads 4-1
-Masters Series: Nadal leads 12-7
-ATP 500 (formerly International Series Gold): Draw 1-1
