Would you believe it’s been a whole year since Roger and Rafa played each other? They met over the weekend in the final at the Madrid Open – which Roger won last year, beating Rafa. Roger (Federer) then went on to win the French, but he didn’t have to beat Rafa (Rafael Nadal) to do it – Robin Soderling, I think it was, beat the unbeatable King of Clay first.
So Roger is clearly the second best clay courter in the world, though he doesn’t often get credit for that. They both played superb tennis on Sunday – it was a close match, though Rafa took it in straight sets. And – unbelievably – Roger totally whiffed the ball on match point. Took a huge swing and missed the ball completely. I have never seen him do that before.
Rafa now holds the record for number of Masters Series tournaments won – 18. Andre Agassi holds 17, and Roger holds 16. Roger and Rafa now set records with virtually every match and every tournament. Two of the best there’s ever been in this beautiful and powerful sport – which Roger plays with perfect balance, while Rafa plays with perfect power.
It’s all good – though I root for Roger!