Amongst posters said before here Federer desn't need to improve on clay as he's good enough. Do you aggree?

Question

He yet lost again to Nadal in Monte Carlo 5-7, 5-7. So how to advance Federer forward on clay so that he can really battle with Nadal? He used his attacking game again in Monte Carlo but it didn't work like in Hamburg, May last year. Or Federer doesn't have any to solve Nadal on the slowest surface?

Answer 1

I think Rafa will dominate on clay yet again! He can edge a win out of Federer. Roger has to play a near perfect game for him to win against Nadal on clay its plain and simple as that.

Answer 2

He is as good as he will ever be, Nadal will either have to be injured, not playing or have an off day.

Answer 3

I agree with Dr.D that Roger needs a better game plan when he is playing Rafa. Fedex was aggressive today, that's why he got that score of 4-0, and then blew it away, let Nadal come back in the game. Roger has to play a perfect game against Nadal, he cannot make so many unforced errors as he did today. Personally, I am happy for Roger that he made it to the finals of Monte Carlo and also put out some sort of a fight against Rafa. I am sure he still needs to figure a lot of things on clay and that's where Jose Higueras is going to help him out. Roger is putting up a much better show at clay  compared to his hardcourt performances this year. Go Rogi !

Answer 4

I also agree with Dr.D, Fed needs another game plan, he simply has to keep up with Nadal and not let him get away with anything on Clay. But though he lost today Fed didn't let Rafa get his victory easily and he played well aside from his mono-ridden problems his been having. But by the time the French rolls around I believe Fed will be back to his old self and he'll suprise everyone at the French. Fed has an excellent all-court style of play and he's won against Rafa before on clay, and he has won clay titles, so he has what it takes. But Rafa plays on clay unlike anyone else, so Fed has to come up with something else.

Answer 5

I think he's good enough, it's just that Nadal has a way of getting into Federer's head unlike any other player has attempted before. Rafa simply doesn't not quit. Certain shots against other players would be winners, but against Rafa, you have to prepare to chase another ball down and hope that he misses.

I don't think there is much Fed can do if Rafa executes his gameplan. Plain and simple, Federer met his match when Rafa arrived unto the tennis scene in 2005. Fed's as good as he's gonna ever be on clay, so there's not much more he can do, win or lose.

Answer 6

Wow and Rafa just won in doubles...

Answer 7

Federer has proven that he is further along at the start of the clay season than his critics expected just a few weeks ago.

7-5, 7-5 is more than a respectable score against Nadal on clay. When he played Nadal the right way, Federer broke Nadal four times and looked like the superior claycourt player for brief periods. Federer actually had the lead in both sets, breaking Nadal to lead 4-3 in the first set and then zipping to a 4-0 lead in the second set with sublime tennis. Had Federer held serve in both sets, he might have beaten Nadal in straight sets (some people have claimed that Nadal should have won Wimbledon 2007, but the Spaniard never had leads like this over Federer).

Federer basically let Nadal back into the match. What let Federer down today was probably his 44 unforced errors, fitness, concentration, forehand consistency, first serve in certain games (and clutch serving), ‘simple volleys’, and a few tactical choices. But

So, yes, Federer has room to improve. However, Federer knows he has the game to beat Nadal on clay and knows what he needs to work on in the next few weeks. He already has the fundamental heavy-duty game and variety to not just beat Nadal at the French Open if Nadal is not 100%, but even push around and boss the ‘king of clay’ on his claycourt kingdom. When Federer got into his zone and unloaded his arsenal and variety, Nadal look overwhelmed and worried (the blank look you see on his face when he gets beat on a hardcourt). Nadal pounded Federer’s backhand with high, heavy topspin probably over 80% of the time but this tactic was a bit less effective than it has been in the past.

At the pace Federer has been improving since Dubai in early March, we have much to look forward to. Federer now has three to four weeks to finetune his game before the French Open semifinals and final, improve his clay strategy, and develop his fitness further with the help of Jose Higueras, who has clay court expertise. You can expect by the French Open that Federer’s backhand will get even stronger and more consistent and apply more high slices. His clutch serving and first serve percentage will also improve, as will the consistency of his forehand and the effectiveness of his tactical choices. He could shorten points, disrupt Nadal’s rhythm with his variety and pace and angles, use more slices and volleys, be more aggressive, use more drop shots, etc -- but he was already doing this today at times and was winning when he used these tactics. It is more an issue of Federer putting it all together and playing the right way against Nadal more often. Federer has three weeks to make this happen.

More significantly, at some point Nadal will probably run out of gas and Federer will catch him, maybe at Rome, Hamburg or Roland Garros. Nadal will be playing 20 clay court matches in four weeks in a row (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg), assuming he does not lose early in any tournament. The pressure on Nadal to defend his clay points and catch up with Federer is tremendous. Given Federer’s performance today, Nadal knows that he has to somehow squeeze even further improvements out of his clay game before he meets Federer again.

It is a positive that Federer broke Nadal’s serve two games in a row to race to a 4-0 lead in the second set (as well as broke him 4 times in the match). Not many other claycourt-competent players have been able to pressure and dominate Nadal within a set on clay over the last three years, much less win a set. But in their eight meetings on clay, Federer has won eight sets off Nadal on clay--including four with scores of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-2--has won a clay final in Hamburg 2007 and had two match points in Rome final 2006 against Nadal. The rest of the field has combined to win only 7 sets off Nadal on clay since Monte Carlo 2006, the same number as Federer in that period.

Federer’s loss after storming to a 4-0 lead is probably partly due to three factors, besides Nadal tightening up his own game and concentration:

- First, today was Federer’s tenth (10th) match in a row on clay in the last 12 days, four of which went the distance. Surely Federer--who is regaining his physical fitness after a bout of energy-sapping mononucleosis viral infection--was exhausted at some level coming into today’s match against the fittest player on tour on his favorite surface. As well, by having to battle Nalbandian and Djokovic, Federer had the tougher draw into the final than Nadal (the Swiss has a better winning record on clay over Nadal's opponents like Ferrer, Ferrero and Davydenko than even Nadal has).  Federer was not moving as well or as energetically in the second half of the second set (unless he got an injury in the second set). Hmmm...perhaps Federer picked up a sore throat, dizziness or breathing problems shaking Djokovic’s hand.

- Second, Nadal has had more practice and is more prepared on the clay and with the balls used in Monte Carlo than Federer is (the balls, clay surface and conditions in Estoril were different). Nadal arrived early in Monte Carlo and is also playing doubles (and has reached the final), which gave him at least twice as much time practicing on Monte Carlo clay than Federer has gotten.

- Third, Federer lost some concentration once he got ahead (nothing new for him) and let Nadal off the hook. That helped Nadal tighten up his game.

The big prize is the French Open. It is more important that Federer peaks in time for the French Open, not for Monte Carlo. The other top French Open winners like Borg, Lendl, Wilander and Kuerten all had less Monte Carlo titles than French Open titles!

Federer’s objectives for Monte Carlo have been met and exceeded in a mononucleosis-compromised season. He has defended his points at Monte Carlo (it is now far less realistic that Nadal will be able to wrest the No. 1 ranking from Federer at the French Open). Federer got the claycourt practice he needed against tough claycourters. He has been able to apply a few new things learned from his new coach.

Answer 8

Federer is very good on clay.  Nobody would be disputing this if Rafael Nadal weren't around.  I think he'll finally beat Nadal this year at the French...that's, of course, they both reach the final.

Answer 9

I believe that Federer has all the weapons to win on clay. He just needs a good game plan. I personally believe that he needs to come to the net more against Nadal. Trading his backhand with Nadal's forehand, like he's prone to do, is simply not going to get the job done. He'll then be forced to keep hitting winners from the baseline. When it works, it's spectacular. When it doesn't, he ends up blowing a 4-0 lead.

He needs to come to the net more. Yes he'll get passed ... a lot. But he just has to swallow his pride and take that as part of the game. That's my opinion for what it's worth.