On this day: Roger Federer ends Rafael Nadal's historic streak on clay
On May 20, 2007, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played their 11th match on the Tour, battling for the Masters 1000 crown in Hamburg. This was already the eight final and the fifth at Masters 1000 series between two great rivals, with Nadal winning seven out of ten previous matches, including the final in Monte Carlo a few weeks earlier. Also, clay was the surface of the battleground for the sixth time and Roger finally managed to topple Rafa on his favorite surface, overcoming a slow start to celebrate a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 triumph, completely outplaying Nadal in sets two and three. Since Valencia in April 2005, Rafa won an unmatched 81 matches in a row on clay, conquering the previous 13 ATP tournaments played on the slowest surface and already standing as one of the best players of all time on dirt! Also, this was the third and last time that Nadal lost a set on clay 6-0, a good indicator of how well Roger played on that day.
First of all, Rafa was unable to exploit Roger's backhand, a familiar pattern in his previous successes against the world no. 1, as Federer made only 12 errors from that wing in the entire match. This allowed the Swiss to endure the longer rallies and wait for a chance to attack once he would take the initiative in the exchanges. Also, Roger served at only 52% and that cost him dearly in the first set, finding the rhythm on the second serve in the rest of the encounter to topple the clay master and earn the fourth Hamburg crown. Nadal's return mainly landed on Roger's forehand side and Federer was in a position to impose his shots early on and keep the points on his racquet. Rafa served at 78% but that didn't bring him much, losing almost half of the points in his games (taking just five points on serve in the final set) and facing 11 break points, dropping serve five times.
Federer repelled five out of seven break points, keeping his serve safe after the initial setback, doing much more damage with the first serve in comparison to Nadal's. They had a similar number of service winners, 16-14 in Roger's favor, and the Swiss star also gained the advantage in the number of winners from the field, with 23-19. Fourteen of these winners came from his forehand wing that worked great once he would find the rhythm, with Nadal finishing the encounter with an almost identical number of winners from forehand, backhand, and volley. The problem for the Spaniard was in the fact he hit just three winners in the final set, finding it more and more difficult to penetrate Roger from the baseline as the match progressed. They were also close in unforced errors segment, with Roger spraying 27 (18 from his forehand which was all over the place in the first part of the match) and Rafa 25, something that couldn't make the difference in the overall score.
That leads us to forced errors, the area that delivered the victory to Federer who committed 13 errors less than his rival! Namely, Nadal was pushed to the limits in many rallies, reaching 20 forced errors while Federer stayed on only seven, probably the lowest number in the matches on clay versus Rafa. Almost half of the points ended in the shortest range up to four strokes and they were equally good, with a 38-35 advantage for Roger. Nadal could have been pleased with these numbers since we all expected him to dominate in the longer points, which wasn't the case on that day. Roger had a notable 25-16 lead in the mid-range exchanges with five to eight strokes, also staying toe to toe with the Spaniard in the rallies that saw nine to 12 shots, both winning 11. Out of 38 longest points, Federer grabbed 22, an excellent indicator of how solid his baseline game was and how well he constructed the points against the clay court dominator.
The opening game turned out to be the second longest in the match and the fight was right on, with two break points for Nadal and four deuces. Roger repelled those with good attacks and eventually held with an ace to avoid an early setback. He had four service winners in that game together with four unforced errors from his forehand, also forcing four errors from Nadal. Rafa earned his first game more easily, hitting two service winners with two errors from Roger who still had to tune his forehand. That cost him the break in game three when Nadal broke at 15, taking two longer exchanges to go 2-1 up. The Spaniard confirmed the break with another solid hold, landing three service winners to settle into a winning rhythm. The first set was decided in game five when Roger got broken again to fall 4-1 behind, struggling to find his first serve so far and already making 11 unforced errors, unable to penetrate Nadal or to impose his shots.
Rafa faced first problems on serve a few minutes later, saving two break points to open up a 5-1 lead. Rafa sealed the game with a backhand winner after a 23-stroke rally and was now just a game away from the opening set, having to serve for it after a hold at love for Roger in game seven. Charging from every part of the court, Nadal claimed another good hold and grabbed the opener 6-2 after 39 minutes, looking strong to lift another title on clay and extend his streak. The Spaniard had seven service winners in comparison to just five from Roger who served at 48%, and it was a 6-4 for Nadal in the winners from the field as well, showing more in the segment where Roger was supposed to have the edge. After initial mistakes from his forehand wing, Roger's backhand started to leak as well and he made 14 unforced errors while Nadal stayed on just seven, another essential element for such a one-sided result.
The only element where Roger had the upper hand were the forced errors (4-6) although that was far from enough to change anything on the court. Federer opened the second set with a good hold, keeping the points short and taking the rhythm out of his opponent. Nadal held from 0-30 in the second game and had a huge chance to move set and a break in front in the next game. Two errors from Roger right after the serve offered Rafa two break points before Federer won the next four points to keep his serve intact, conquering two long rallies of 20 and 22 shots which was extremely important for the rest of the clash. With the momentum on his side, Roger broke at 15 in game four, moving in front for the first time and moving Nadal from his comfort zone to draw more errors from the Spaniard, the pattern that will be in charge for the rest of the match (Nadal already made 12 forced errors).
Federer confirmed the break with two service winners in game five to jump into a 4-1 lead, having the opportunity to increase that lead. The Swiss was now in a great rhythm, returning Nadal's serves well and taking advantage in the points to earn another break point. Rafa saved it with a service winner and eventually held to reduce the deficit to 4-2, staying within one break from his rival. Federer fired two unreturned serves and a couple from the field to stay ahead, looking better and better on the court and making the deciding set almost inevitable now. Nadal served to stay in the set in game eight and it would develop into the longest one of the match after five deuces. The Spaniard saved a break point with a winner right after the serve and wasted three game points before getting broken, hading the set to Roger 6-2. Federer kept the points on his racquet, attacking from every rational position and not allowing Nadal to drag him into longer exchanges.
In set number two, Roger increased the first serve percentage and that gave him much more room in return games, taking more risky shots and staying away from the points that would have usually suited Rafa. It was 8-5 for Roger in service winners while Nadal still made more from the field, 10-9. They both sprayed nine unforced errors which was a big difference compared to set number one, and the biggest advantage for Roger came in the forced errors department, staying away from those whereas Nadal hit ten! The final set kicked off with a break point for Nadal and Roger saved it with a nice drive volley winner, making a hold after two errors from the Spaniard. Rafa didn't seize his opportunity and paid the price in the very next game, losing serve at 15 to give Roger a 2-0 lead. Federer returned well and closed the game after taking a 13-stroke rally, being the favorite to win the match now and terminate Nadal's impressive streak on clay that lasted for more than two years.
Roger sealed the third game with a service winner for his fifth game in a row and it was clear that Nadal would have to produce something special to get back on the scoreboard and stay undefeated. That was highly unlikely after game four when Roger broke for the third time in a row, increasing the lead and marching towards the finish line. Federer was again stronger in the longer exchanges, his backhand worked really well and it wasn't hard to get into a good position for the attack after that. Three winners gave the Swiss the fifth game and shaken Nadal had to serve to stay in the match.
He failed to win at least a game, though, allowing Roger to break him again with two forehand winners and unforced error from Rafa who faded from the court in the final part of the match, unable to make an impact and stop Federer's avalanche. They had just five service winners in the final set and Roger took charge from the field, firing ten while Nadal stayed on three. Also, Federer made only four unforced errors and Nadal climbed to nine, losing his shots completely. Out of ten longest points, Federer grabbed eight and proved his dominance in the deciding set, outplaying Nadal on his favorite surface in sets two and three and completing a feat that was almost impossible to do in those years.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2w9YbqQ
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