Nadal VS Federer on clay court?

Question

nadal looks invincible. his angle is so deep and acute. don't make any mistake at all. very strong at long rally. federer has a magic shot and knows how to win. ah.............I don't know federer!!! who will win? why?

Answer 1

Elrond52 gives the most informed & intelligent answers EVER. I thoroughly enjoy reading them.

I'd like to highlight an important point: "Federer has won five of their last seven matches on all surfaces."

Also, if Federer is tough to beat when he's sick, its impossible to beat him when he's healthy.

Answer 2

Rafael Nadal will kick Federer`s *** :) Vamos Rafa

Answer 3

Federer is closing the gap on Nadal. The sets that Nadal wins are tighter and tighter. Federer also wins sets at a pretty good spread. Like Hamburg 6-0 on clay. Not much of a king who gets a bagel on his home turf.

I think Nadal won't have as easy a time this clay season, although he looked weaker in the beginning of the tournie, he has a swagger in his walk now.

Answer 4

Federer just sent out a strong message to the other players and his short-sighted, sensationlist press critics -- ‘watch out, I’m back’.

What a great match and win for Federer, crushing the tough clay competitor Nalbandian in the final two sets 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Consider that Nalbandian entered the match having already played 15 matches on clay this year (winning 14), so he has had a lot of match practice on clay, twice as much as Federer. Yet Roger won 56% of the total points (101 of 187 points), with 43 winners and 30 unforced errors. What is even more positive for Federer is that he won without his best serving -- he got only 52% of his first serves in (his first serve percentage actually dropped from 60% in the first set to 46% in the second set and 48% in the third set). He now has 4.5 to 5.5.weeks to work on improving his serving and claycourt game further for the French Open.

When Nalbandian beat Federer the last two times they played in Madrid and Paris, Federer’s press critics jumped on it as signs of his vulnerability, decline, blah, blah, blah (actually their matches were very close, with Federer just losing 4 more points than Nalbandian of the 310 total points played in both those indoor Masters events). One and the half weeks after his loss in the Paris Masters, Federer dominated the field in the Shanghai Tennis Masters Cup in mid-November, playing sublime tennis (see clips). Federer may have been temporarily setback by mononucleosis this year, but a great player does not lose those natural abilities in just five months.

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Now it remains to be seen whether Federer, whose fitness was drained by his mono illness, can recover from a two hour plus match today and his eight straight match in 10 days to beat presumably Djokovic tomorrow. But whether Federer wins or loses the Monte Carlo title should not be the primary objective for him. Federer really needs to get the high-quality match practice in Monte Carlo and use it to help him peak just before the French Open. Federer has to keep his eye on the big prize even at the expense of a lesser title at Monte Carlo.

The bad news for Nadal and Djokovic is that Federer now has 5.5 weeks to finetune his serving and claycourt game before he meets them in the French Open, and he has one of the best claycourt coaches in Jose Higueras to advise him. The coaching and learning process with a new coach has  probably resulted in short term inconsistencies in Federer’s game in Estoril and Monte Carlo. But the real improvements through coaching will be seen by Rome or Hamburg and certainly by the French Open.

Nadal may have a 6-1 win-loss advantage against Federer on clay, but in their last two clay matches it is 1-1 (Hamburg and French Open) and overall Federer has won five of their last seven matches on all surfaces. Federer even thrashed Nadal 6-0 in the third set at Hamburg. In the 2007 French Open final, what was not publicized is that Federer was nursing a groin injury (picked up in his QF match against Robredo) into the final. You cannot play Nadal on clay without 100% fitness, yet Federer might have won the first set had he not squandered 10 breakpoints. Federer’s backhand has improved enough that Nadal’s high topspin will be less of a factor by the French Open.

Nadal is one of the greatest claycourters in history, but it would not surprise me if Federer wins the French Open and one to two more clay titles over the next six weeks, regardless of what happens in Monte Carlo. At this point, it looks like Nadal and Ferrer might go to three sets (Ferrer is up 3-1 in the second set). It would not surprise me if Ferrer beats Nadal, even though it is unlikely.

Answer 5

1st of all Federer wont reach finals since Djokovic will stop him in semis...

Answer 6

Nadal because he is currently the best claycourt player in the ATP.

Answer 7

the odds speak in nadals favour....... and nadal is looking pretty strong this season...... rippling muscle, he will be hard to beat.... but fedex is very determined, and he could turn it around...

Answer 8

it will be a draw

Answer 9

Their head to head on clay is 6-1 in favor of Nadal. That's a strong statement. And that includes 3 consecutive times Nadal denied Federer the elusive French Open title.

Nadal is stronger than Federer on clay, and it's simple. He hits high top spin to Federer's back hand, and Federer does not adjust his game plan. Plain and simple.

Answer 10

I would love to see Nadal vs. Federer match but I think Djokovic is lurking on Federer's heels right now.  Of course, Federer didn't reach the Monte Carlo finals just to lose to Nadal for nothing.  Roger is very capable on clay since he grew up playing on clay.  But this is Nadal's turf.  Rafa is the king of clay....the same way they brand Roger the king of grass.  Novak Djokovic is good, but the two has more experience handling the clay court and will probably just roll over him.  Roger is vulnerable this year though so Novak may nip at him to reach the finals.  But with Nadal on the other side of the court, Djokovic's big serve and big game will only be slowed down by the dirt and Nadal will just pounce on it with heavy topspins.

Answer 11

Nadal dominates the entire world on clay, not just Federer.  The only way he would have a chance against Nadal on clay is if Federer literally made no unforced errors, which is impossible against a player like Nadal.  Either that or Nadal would have to be less than 100% physically, like he was in Hamburg last year in his only loss ever to Federer on clay.

Answer 12

nadal is better than federer on clay court..

Answer 13

Nadal is strongest on clay, but Fedex is the only player who has given him a tough fight so far on clay. Fed beat him last year at Hamburg, one of the scores was 6-0 in the second set if I am not mistaken. How many players can hold Nadal to that kind of score on clay? Fed is the one person that can trouble Nadal, but this year Fed is not 100% fit, so it is useless to expect anything drastic from him. Once, he is fully fit, we can expect the same kind of play from Fedex, with the help of Mr. Jose Higueras of course.