It was a good day for Swiss tennis fans.
It was the best result for them - their hero, unsatisfied with six titles, powered his way to a seventh. And the cherry on top was the fact that he did it against his primary rival, Nadal. They hadn't met since last year's Australian Open and you had to go further back for a meeting in a final (Rome 2013). Federer, second only to Djokovic indoors, was pretty much in control for almost all of the match barring a brief phase at the end of the second set, where Nadal reminded him of the slender margins of this game as well as laying a marker for the rest of the tour. For the rest of the match a wonderfully aggressive Federer was able to handle everything Nadal threw at him, served with great power and accuracy and rarely made to chase. Too much game on a surface that suits his game to a T, and his wonderful commitment to aggression over the last year and a half has only done him good.
Nadal, meanwhile, did not have too much to cry about. After a woeful 2015, he has started to approach consistency over the last three tournaments he has played - a runner-up to Djokovic at Beijing, a semifinal at Shanghai and now a runner up - these matches have shown him making his way back towards his best. More work has to be done, but it is thrilling to have him in the mix again. If the first set against Djokovic in Beijing showed glimmers, here he was able to mount a serious challenge at times, dazzling the crowd with some vintage shots.
I was hoping that tennis would win and while not a classic, the match was compelling with plenty of winners and almost customary ‘wow-did-you-see-that’ shots from both men. Federer and Nadal will leave Basel encouraged for the rest of the year and for 2016. And after that, who knows?
Both men are closer to the end than the beginning but rather than sadden, it need only make us enjoy each match they play a little more. Don't forget, this too shall pass.
It was a good day for tennis fans.
It was the best result for them - their hero, unsatisfied with six titles, powered his way to a seventh. And the cherry on top was the fact that he did it against his primary rival, Nadal. They hadn't met since last year's Australian Open and you had to go further back for a meeting in a final (Rome 2013). Federer, second only to Djokovic indoors, was pretty much in control for almost all of the match barring a brief phase at the end of the second set, where Nadal reminded him of the slender margins of this game as well as laying a marker for the rest of the tour. For the rest of the match a wonderfully aggressive Federer was able to handle everything Nadal threw at him, served with great power and accuracy and rarely made to chase. Too much game on a surface that suits his game to a T, and his wonderful commitment to aggression over the last year and a half has only done him good.
Nadal, meanwhile, did not have too much to cry about. After a woeful 2015, he has started to approach consistency over the last three tournaments he has played - a runner-up to Djokovic at Beijing, a semifinal at Shanghai and now a runner up - these matches have shown him making his way back towards his best. More work has to be done, but it is thrilling to have him in the mix again. If the first set against Djokovic in Beijing showed glimmers, here he was able to mount a serious challenge at times, dazzling the crowd with some vintage shots.
I was hoping that tennis would win and while not a classic, the match was compelling with plenty of winners and almost customary ‘wow-did-you-see-that’ shots from both men. Federer and Nadal will leave Basel encouraged for the rest of the year and for 2016. And after that, who knows?
Both men are closer to the end than the beginning but rather than sadden, it need only make us enjoy each match they play a little more. Don't forget, this too shall pass.
It was a good day for tennis fans.
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