Federer & Nadal at Hamburg?

Question

Just a note to all the tennis fans that are saying Nadal cheated in the Hamburg final by faking injury and that Federer should have won. Just look at the draw and you will see Nadal deserved to win. Federer got to the final without playing any seeded players at all. Nadal had to play Djokovic, Murray (who are top 12), Starace who is a clay court specialist and Moya, his long term friend. Surely Nadal had to beat better players and so deserved the win in Hamburg?

Answer 1

nadal didn't fake his injury... i also agree with you... nadal's draw was much much tougher than fed's... nadal deserve the win.. i think fed confidence put him down.. with 5-1 lead in the first set.. and maybe, confident that nadal is tired because of his match against novak... so, nadal deserves it!

Answer 2

I'm a Federer fan, and I wanted him to win I won't deny it, but I'm also a Rafa fan and I was glad he won too. For the record, I don't believe Nadal cheated, he probably thought his injury was more serious then it actually was, but that's not cheating. But I mean Rafa was down 5-1 and was playing injured so the poor guy needed a break, absolutely nothing wrong with that and he found the strength to come back and win and Fed's game just wasn't enough to beat Rafa this time. Fed praised Rafa's work and Roger blamed himself for losing the match, quite frankly the only person Fed could blame was himself and hopefully he'll learn from it and try again next year and suceed. I really think questions about this should really stop because the match is over and done with and a major tournament is coming up, so all fans should concentrate on cheering for another Fed versus Rafa final. I know I am!

Answer 3

I agree, Nadal deserved to win the match because he played better during big points.  Yes, Nadal took an injury timeout in the first set at 5-2 and then came back to win the set, but in the second set Federer let the same advantage get away from him and had to push to win it in the tiebreak.  

Nadal is notorious for being able to come back from behind and has done that in numerous matches against tough opponents.  Look at the semi, where Djokovic almost got to lead 4-0 in the first, after which Nadal came back to win it.

Answer 4

wel i agree that Rafa must not have cheated coz he had played many tough matches including a 3 set thriller against Nole the day b4,,,

but WHO KNOWS..??..Tennis world is gettting cruel...players can do anything from injury timeouts to toilet breaks to break the opponents momentum...sometimes.. mid-match rain delays are also very helpful...i think rafa may have took an injury time-out with an intent of breaking Roger's momentum...he must have had injury..but i certainly that it looks he took the timeout with an intent of doing what actually happened...

Answer 5

Rafa absolutely deserved to win - despite his much tougher road to the final, including his 3-hour match against Djokovic the day before, he showed his clay court prowess yet again.  R-Fed fans need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and give credit where credit is due. Otherwise, it might suggest that they fear Roger's "career decline" that the tennis pundits are talking about might actually be true.................?

Answer 6

Nadal did not fake an injury in the final at Hamburg. Nadal does not need to resort to gamer tactics to win a championship. He had some testing done by medical personnel after the match and there was something minor detected in his hamstring which he said he will have looked at further. When did an injury timeout  during a match become verboten? Players are entitled to injury timeouts and bathroom breaks if necessary. I could give credence to this theory if Nadal were  known as a player who notoriously took advantage of the rules regarding timeouts. This is not the case at all. In addition, you are on the money regarding who had the tougher draw. Even a player as superbly physically fit as Rafa may begin to feel the wear and tear of having a few long matches against quality opponents.

Answer 7

Ok Nina you've answered the question correctly.

Great.

Nadal was shamefaced, calling time out 5-1 was shameful.

But I'm sure he could have gone ahead and won without resorting to unworthy gamesmanship.

For the record Roger blamed himself for losing the match.

And praised Nadals play. Federer was guilty of some careless shots.

It's hard not to get hot under the collar, and start to holler, when you see a player - bend- the rules. However, Nadal doesn't deserve to lose that No. 2 ranking. So maybe he will be playing a little suspect for a while.

We are yet to see Roger pull injury time but who knows?

Answer 8

ok, but wish you would have noted that during the Rome final, which was easier for Nadal. They can handle it. They're top of the world for a reason.

Federer fans aren't saying Nadal cheated, we're saying he shouldn't have called an injury time out right before the set ends. He himself said the same thing later on, and said he felt bad about it.