French Open 2011: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, the Final Chapter?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 4, 2011

commentComment        

Roger Federer.  Rafael Nadal.  French Open final.

As the great Yogi Berra, who must have been a tennis fan, was wont to say, "It's like deja vu all over again."

Yes, indeed.  And no one is complaining...except maybe a certain world No. 2 and the entire Serbian nation.

After a two-year hiatus from their yearly clash in the final at Roland Garros, Roger and Rafa are all set to resume their storied rivalry for a fourth time in Paris and their eighth time overall in a Grand Slam final.

The ancillary details of their head-to-head battles have been well chronicled.   For starters, Rafa has beaten Roger in five of the seven major finals they've contested, including all three at Roland Garros ('06-'08).  Rafa has won the last three times he and Roger have met in major finals (French '08, Wimbledon '08, Australian '09).  Rafa owns a commanding 16-8 record overall against Federer, including an 11-2 mark on clay.  

And Rafa sprinkles clay on his breakfast cereal and trains with a Roger look-alike punching bag in his basement....  Okay, maybe not so much, but you get the point.

One things for sure: Rafa ought to spot Roger a set or two in the final as a thank you for knocking off Djokovic in the semis.  Anyone who thinks Nadal didn't care who he faced in the final hasn't been paying attention these last six months.

Give Roger tremendous credit for taking down Djokovic when most pundits, including this one, had penciled Novak through to the final.  

Roger needed a fast start, which he got, racing out to a two-set lead. Djokovic rallied to take the third.  Then, down 5-4 in the fourth set with Djokovic serving to square the match and seize the momentum, Federer summoned the kind of clutch play that has been eluding him in recent encounters against his chief rivals.  He broke Novak, took the set to a tiebreaker and then capitalized on ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!