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Does anyone know how to get this suggestion to Roger?
I believe Federer could get over Nadal if he got used to playing him (which is hard because Nadal plays like no one else). I think he rarely even practices against a lefty before playing Nadal (you cannot count Roche).
SO, SINCE VERDASCO IS SPANISH AND NOT LIKELY TO HELP ROGER, WHY NOT MARIANO PUERTA? I thought of this on Friday and then Doug Adler said the same thing on the Tennis Channel during the MC final today. His broadcasting partner nixed it because Federer is not close to the Argentineans, but if Mariano is trying to come back, practicing against Federer would be good for both him and Roger. [I suspect Roger could afford to pay him well.] Although Puerta has a one-handed backhand, his forehand is closest to Nadal’s as is his serve and he is muscular like Nadal. He’s not as quick, but at least Roger could get used to lefty angles, power, and spin, and maybe then Roger would not fly forehands all over the place. Think about what one excellent forehand would have done in Rome in the 5th set tiebreaker to history and mindset and a couple of his best could have changed even today’s match. Maybe he could work on his backhand slice return while he was practicing with Mariano.
It’s clear that Federer is uncomfortable playing Nadal especially on clay.
The main reason is that Nadal is such a force on clay. He is never easy as he is talented, athletic, left-handed, fast, and determined on every point and these traits play out best on clay. Roger simply never seems to be comfortable against Nadal and his instincts cause him to look uncharacteristically indecisive and have footwork problems. I know from personal experience how difficult lefties are. But both Blake and Youzhny have played well against him and they have one handed backhands (yes, not on clay, but still Blake is 3-0 against Nadal and even Roger is not that good on hard surfaces).
Perhaps the key reason is that Rafael is the only thing standing between Roger and the unquestioned title of GOAT. Most players have a player that upsets them (cf., Safin v. Santoro), but when this one is the only one who seems to own Roger on his most challenging surface, and the media put it under the microscope, it is hard for Roger to play against Rafael as he normally does. For example, when he starts poorly against most players, he believes he will get his game together and come on strong (compare his matches against Ferrer and Ferrero right before playing Nadal). Roger gets upset with things when playing Rafael that don’t bother him against anyone else.
By the way, people tend to write off Roger for having clay as his kryptonite as it was for Pete, Boris, and Johnny Mc. But Nadal is the only thing that stands between him from one or two French titles (two for sure since Puerta was disqualified for that tournament) and Roger has won several clay court titles something Boris never did and Pete only won Rome, I think.
I believe Federer could get over Nadal if he got used to playing him (which is hard because Nadal plays like no one else). I think he rarely even practices against a lefty before playing Nadal (you cannot count Roche).
SO, SINCE VERDASCO IS SPANISH AND NOT LIKELY TO HELP ROGER, WHY NOT MARIANO PUERTA? I thought of this on Friday and then Doug Adler said the same thing on the Tennis Channel during the MC final today. His broadcasting partner nixed it because Federer is not close to the Argentineans, but if Mariano is trying to come back, practicing against Federer would be good for both him and Roger. [I suspect Roger could afford to pay him well.] Although Puerta has a one-handed backhand, his forehand is closest to Nadal’s as is his serve and he is muscular like Nadal. He’s not as quick, but at least Roger could get used to lefty angles, power, and spin, and maybe then Roger would not fly forehands all over the place. Think about what one excellent forehand would have done in Rome in the 5th set tiebreaker to history and mindset and a couple of his best could have changed even today’s match. Maybe he could work on his backhand slice return while he was practicing with Mariano.
It’s clear that Federer is uncomfortable playing Nadal especially on clay.
The main reason is that Nadal is such a force on clay. He is never easy as he is talented, athletic, left-handed, fast, and determined on every point and these traits play out best on clay. Roger simply never seems to be comfortable against Nadal and his instincts cause him to look uncharacteristically indecisive and have footwork problems. I know from personal experience how difficult lefties are. But both Blake and Youzhny have played well against him and they have one handed backhands (yes, not on clay, but still Blake is 3-0 against Nadal and even Roger is not that good on hard surfaces).
Perhaps the key reason is that Rafael is the only thing standing between Roger and the unquestioned title of GOAT. Most players have a player that upsets them (cf., Safin v. Santoro), but when this one is the only one who seems to own Roger on his most challenging surface, and the media put it under the microscope, it is hard for Roger to play against Rafael as he normally does. For example, when he starts poorly against most players, he believes he will get his game together and come on strong (compare his matches against Ferrer and Ferrero right before playing Nadal). Roger gets upset with things when playing Rafael that don’t bother him against anyone else.
By the way, people tend to write off Roger for having clay as his kryptonite as it was for Pete, Boris, and Johnny Mc. But Nadal is the only thing that stands between him from one or two French titles (two for sure since Puerta was disqualified for that tournament) and Roger has won several clay court titles something Boris never did and Pete only won Rome, I think.
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