2015 Swiss Indoors…ATP 500…Basel, Switzerland

[stotty]

One set to love to Federer. Should be easy from here. Nadal has done better than I thought he might so far. He just cannot penetrate like he used to and he drops the ball too short too often.

It's critical Nadal finds a length consistently here in set two...or it will be goodnight.

[don_budge]

Serving for the match...

One set to love to Federer. Should be easy from here. Nadal has done better than I thought he might so far. He just cannot penetrate like he used to and he drops the ball too short too often.

It's critical Nadal finds a length consistently here in set two...or it will be goodnight.

Serve it out…baby!!!

[klacr]

Was on court all morning so I missed the final. Look forward to seeing the replay. You knew this match wasn't going to be a straight set blowout. Nadal always plays Federer so tough, like he does everyone else. But Fed, unlike Nadal's previous opponents this week, is a champion numerous times over. He's a champion for a reason.

Federer wins his 7th Basel title. Lucky number. He's also won 7 Wimbledon's. 7 Titles in Cincinnati as well as Dubai. He's won 8 titles in Halle.

Kyle LaCroix

[stotty]

Nadal did better than I expected...

I left to go to work at 5-4 in the second set. Nadal had also just lost the first point on his serve...so 0-15. When I left things hadn't improved much for Nadal the whole match up until that point. He was still hitting a terrible length much of the time and Federer was even ripping backhand winners here and there. You simply cannot allow Federer to be working inside the baseline so often, no matter how quick a defender you are. I am curious as to how Nadal managed to eke out that second set.

When I am came off court myself I saw Federer had run out a 6-3 winner in final set.

I'm pleased Nadal somehow managed to make a fight of it. I had it down as 6-3 6-3 to Federer.

It's been a tough day for me. Four hours this morning, then three hours this afternoon...coaching in heavy fog would you believe. Not a breath of wind. I feel a little weary now. I am beginning to wonder if I will be able to put these kind of hours in in ten years time when I'm 62. Or maybe I will drop dead first...who knows.

[bottle]

Nah, you'll wake up and be 75. And be very surprised. I never thought it would happen. Much less that I'd be playing tennis and enjoying it so much (with the help of Celebrex). But I'm not teaching tennis and certainly am not writing (about tennis) for a living. I'm gardening. A pretty nice thing to do. Hope is preparing a talk for a big garden club here. On the famous gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll for the Hestercombe estate in Somerset (a 3000-person barracks during World War II in preparation for a possible German invasion on the south coast). She'll use a Powerpoint presentation with slides she took during the great trip we made this summer to England when we met with you, too.

[stotty]

The match revealed a lot. Roger is still a little flaky when up against Nadal. Nothing has changed there is the last two and a half years. The match was frequently punctuated with errors and episodes that betrayed this. Nadal still lacks penetration on the forehand wing as well as confidence.

It wasn't a great match...but interesting nonetheless.

[don_budge]

The Only Thing…that matters is a Federer vs. Nadal final

The only thing that matters in the scope of the Swiss Indoors is a Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal matchup. Everything else is foreplay at this point. This is a big moment in the present tense of professional tennis. Once these two face off everything else will seem like background noise.

Rafael Nadal versus Richard Gasquet? This will be a rare moment for me…I am pulling for Nadal. Only because I want to see Roger kick his ass-picking behind into next year.

Roger has a game plan...We all know what Roger and his backhand is up against vs Nadal.

I have watched Nadal quite a bit this week. He is muddling through but is a shadow of the player he's been in the past. He is missing forehands left, right and centre at times. It doesn't seem like his forehand is having the same effect as usual either. From TV it doesn't look like it's ripping off the court. The stats tend also to write a story. He is hitting far less winners and making more unforced errors on that wing than in his glory days.

I agree with lc that Nadal's forehand, even though technique wise, looks the same, it is definitely not having that same body blow impact on players as it used to. As far as Roger and Nadal's games are going in different directions, I don't think anyone is really surprised. Rogers inimitable game seems still just beautiful to watch, technically flawless.

Federer vs. Nadal...Giving the people what they want. Federer will have the crowd behind him. The court surface in his favor. And Nadal not at his Nadal best. I'd love to see the SABR against Nadal just to send him in into a tizzy. Hoping for an ass-kicking tomorrow, but Nadal is a competitor and always makes things interesting with Roger. Roger's biggest opponent tomorrow is between his ears.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Of course it isn't the only thing that matters. In reality it only about you and me. It's more about Stotty wondering where he will be at when he's 62…where I will be at in the wink of a young girl's eye. I've got to start thinking where I will be at when I am bottle's age and bottle has to start thinking about where he will be at my father's age. And so it goes…on and on. It is what it is. It takes planning and preparation and setting realistic goals…just as Roger Federer does when he is traversing the late stages of his career. It also takes a good bit of luck…the grace of God. Yesterday in Roger Federer's case all of his experience, intuition and instinct managed to kick in at a pivotal point in the match when his aging body was about to fail him. He did it with his mind…and his ability through the conduit of his technique…he managed to exert just enough pressure on Rafael Nadal to extract the win. In front of the adoring throng in Basel. His hometown…where he was a ball boy once upon a time. Before they did dual duty as towel boys…cabana boys.

At 62…you won't want to be doing seven hours on the court on Sundays. No…you will take the day off and rest or pursue a leisurely activity. Putsing around in the garden perhaps. Translating Swedish mystery murder novels written by attractive hair dressers perhaps. Whatever floats your boat. What floats Roger's boat on Sunday afternoons at the ripe old age of 34? He likes to take on the nemesis of his career in front of an adoring crowd. That's what floats his boat. Yesterday it just so happened to float mine as well.

The first set was a nervous affair. Peter Fleming was in the announcers booth…thank God. These other idiots are starting to get to me with their exclamations of wonder and amazement every single time a tennis player makes what looks to me as a rather routine in the course of the match…excellent shot. Shots don't need hyperbole…they deserve respect and a student's observation. Something the viewer can take away from a match without the hype. Peter does such a job. Stating the facts…understating the action. Letting the action speak for itself. Fleming assessed how the pressure was affecting both players in a wonderfully astute way and I just wonder if the listening audience could fully appreciate just what it was he was saying because I think they have been "dumbed down". All the way down.

Roger was skittish out of the gates. Nadal was tense. Both players were miss-firing. I had to laugh at some of the awful mishits. Big racquets…ha ha ha! I tried to imagine the two of them with the old wood racquets. They would have been missing the ball completely. Federer managed to keep his emotions under control and he was able to "maintain just enough pressure" on a struggling Nadal to get the first set into the barn on the basis of a single break of serve. The pressure that Federer was putting on the Spaniard was two fold. He was cruising through his service games and he was taking Nadal to deuce back and forth….back and forth until he managed to convert a break point where he commenced to serve out the set. Just like they used to do…before all of the hyperbole.

The second set began to get interesting and it almost appeared at the end of it that Nadal had successfully turned the tables and was putting enough pressure on the Swiss Maestro to crack his veneer. Federer had him in his sights but let him squirm away and then it seemed as if Roger's legs were giving out on him. There was a point when he was attacking the net and his volley didn't have enough penetration…then Nadal put up a lob that was doable but Federer let that opportunity slip away until Nadal managed to pass him on a key point. The second set was firmly in Nadal's control so they were destined to go to a third on this historic occasion. Historic it was. These two hadn't met under these sort of circumstances in a long time. Maybe never.

At this point it looked like it was going to be Nadal's day. He seemed to be firmly in control. He had settled his nerves and his trademark "rodeo" forehand seemed to be finding it's mark more often than not. Landing body blows as stroke said. I went out and did interval training. A set of ten. 150 meters…then 175. Another 150…then 200. And so on and so forth. There you go Stotty a remedy for the 62's! When I came back it was 3-2 to Federer and Nadal held serve. Federer was holding on by the skin of his teeth. Then he got his chance. He got just a bit of a second wind. Maybe he had been saving it in the back of his mind. Through the years he has learned a thing or two. Saving the last spurt of supreme effort for the moment of truth and then it was the seventh game of the third set. The most important game of the match right out of the book…according to Tilden. Roger struck and he struck with all he had. He managed to get a break out of Nadal and then he proceeded to serve it out. Just like they used to do…when tennis was tennis. Roger Federer…he's the living proof all right. I tell my students I am never wrong. At least on this I am right. Roger is the only one left…the last tennis player standing.

[stotty]

Oddly enough when I watch Nadal come to the net I find he is as well equipped as anyone around today in the forecourt. His backhand volley is very sound. His forehand volley volley is more suspect as he sticks the racket tip up a little too vertical on some volleys. He does close the net down really well, though, and in doing so makes easy volleys easier still. He overhead is outstanding.

I think Nadal hit his peak after his long lay off. I remember it was at Indian Wells 2013 that a decision must have been made within the Nadal camp to shorten rallies. Nadal beat Del Potro in three sets at the Indian Wells final and then went on to have the most incredible couple of months I ever seen. He was more aggressive on his forehand and was frequently coming to the net and winning points comfortably. Since that time he gradually retreated into his more baseline game and with it, longer rallies.

I think what separates Roger from just about anyone else I have ever seen play tennis, is his ability to make something happen and change the complex of the game by pulling off two or even just one shot from out of the blue and at critical junctures. Or sometimes it can be a short sequence of events. I think they call it genius. Perhaps that is what genius is...the essence of it. I remember him miraculously changing up play in the fifth set of the 2007 Wimbledon final against Nadal. Just a few shots here and there that sent Nadal off balance won that match.

Love or hate Nadal, the Federer/Nadal match up is always exciting. I have always found the mental battle interesting. Genius against iron will.

[klacr]

Federer is the ultimate shotmaker.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Preparation…preparation…preparation!!!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/paris-2015-federer-fresh-after-basel-triumph

From the article...

"A surprise loss to Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round of the Shgnahi Rolex Masters proved a blessing in disguise for Federer giving him extra time to recuperate ahead of the final indoors stretch. “I was on vacation after Davis Cup for 10 days, was on the beach with my family, had a great time, was able to unwind,” he said.

“I did the same last year, maybe even a bit longer because I knew the year-end was going to be longer … with the Davis Cup final. So from that standpoint, especially losing early in Shanghai, the year-end now is not going to be a problem really. It's a couple of events left, that's it.”

Roger's mantra of "preparation…preparation…preparation" is the recipe for his success. He can afford to meticulously choose on every single detail. He has the luxury of having all of the wherewithal in the world to comb and sift through all of the permutations and combinations as to what suits him best. What will enhance his ability to perform.

In this article they make mention of the fact that his first round defeat in Shanghai afforded him to be able to take a nice vacation and get some much needed rest to propel him through the rest of the year. The first stage was "mission accomplished" in Basel. The win in the final against his nemesis Nadal was the fruit of some very astute preparation. Did he throw that first round in Shanghai? He would never admit it.

Next up is Paris and it will be interesting to note just how much this tournament may or may not mean to him. Last year it was a loss to Raonic that gave him a couple of extra days rest to prepare for London.

In preparation…at the age of 34 on the world stage…a couple of key words are rest and pacing yourself. He prepares himself to prepare when it counts most. His success in the Slams this year at Wimbledon and the U. S. Open are good cases in point. Let's see how this plays out.