REAL reason Madrid final was such a close affair.

Close is a relative term today with respect to Nadal on clay. No one took him to a tie break and no one kept him on the court for 2:10 minutes with so much still up in the air right until the last point was ‘unplayed’ since the clay season began this year. So there are obvious concerns for Nadal camp right before the big one.

Federer’s presence doesn’t and cannot explain the whole deal for what he has shown this year on ANY surface. Besides, Federer was far from his very best to evoke such a close scoreline not just in previous months but specifically during this Madrid final.

It starts and ends with Nadal today. Nadal was more than clearly off his form – the form that he has now become synonymous with. THAT’S what is largely responsible for what happened today. You can bet on one thing: Nadal will NOT last with this showing against Soderling, Verdasco or Ferrer – maybe even in a five setter. Five setter doesn’t matter if you lose the first three sets, does it?

If Nadal was off mainly due to fatigue, he has been supremely lucky this year to have escaped with the title just before the guillotine came down. He now has time to recuperate and reproduce his magic again. Maybe Madrid should fall on the chopping block too alongside Barcelona next season to not slice it so thin.

I WILL grant Wall Of Fame listing to…………

Whoever has the balls to ask Federer the following question verbatim:

What were you thinking at match-point? How can you be so freaking off the mark on such a lame return – at match championship freaking point – that you cannot even make contact with the ball? Is this another insight into your weak mental fortitude – against Nadal?

What hurts Federer most after this loss?

No, it’s not losing to Nadal or straight sets or 17th Masters event etc. etc.

It’s how close he was in taking down a ‘in full flight’ Nadal after having a less than stellar season going in. Even a blow out would have been much easier to stomach given the obvious crutch he had. He was within striking distance most of the match. ‘Nearly there’ always hurts far more than ‘never had a chance’. Add the history here and its compounded many times.

Federer vs Nadal Madrid highlights.

Gulbis talks about night in jail last year. From Bjornino. Thanks.

BJORNINO

This was on http://www.tennis.com/ticker/index.aspx May 15th:

Gulbis talks about night in jail last year May 15, 2010
Ernests Gulbis, speaking somewhat sarcastically to ABC.es about being fined and kept in jail overnight in Stockholm last fall on a charge of soliciting a prostitute: “It was great, a lot of fun. I’m never going back to Sweden in my life. When I meet a girl I don’t ask her her profession, it doesn’t matter to me if she’s a hairdresser or anything else. All of a sudden in jail for no reason. Everyone should spend a night in jail. I was there for six of seven hours and then paid the bail. The next day was a tournament, or I would have stayed longer.”

Poor Ernests, must be quiet a contrast to daddy’s private jet ^^

Which ‘lost the championship on’ shot comes close to this one for Federer?

That one at Wimbledon against, let’s see – Nadal? That shot was quite identical to this one in placement, speed and trajectory. It was also similar in what Federer should have attempted on that shot instead of being rushed and going for the outright winner.

Granted you have Nadal across the net but this is championship freaking point. Even though the shot at the hard courts of the AO final against Nadal was not similar the mind-set for the shot selection was not too far from this one either. You would expect far more composure and patience from a player of Federer’s stature specially at those moments rather than going ballistic to get it over with in a hurry.

How many players have ever come back after being down championship point? Not many but that’s the exact number who can match Federer at nearly anything. Translation: That separation has to show at these moments.

Federer’s needs to learn a lesson and not surrender championship points so tamely. This SHOULD have been extended to three sets with all ingredients of a thriller studded all over.

What really happened at and around the last point?

That has to be one of Federer’s most embarrassing moments in ANY final. He couldn’t even connect with a looping return ball smack in the middle of the court with nothing on it. The crowd deserves credit for not laughing their ass out on that. Nadal didn’t know what to do either. He had to drastically alter his celeberation to avoid making it look as he was laughing AT Federer. Federer stood there after that massive flailing act wanting to get off the court like yesterday.

Federer may have been attempting to fire a crosscourt shot to Nadal’s forehand but the ball never came toward the racket which was already sliced so thin for the shot that nothing else could connect either to the angled racket.

And did you notice Nadal attempting a ‘quickie’ with the ball girl right after shaking the umpire’s hand? I don’t think Shakira was an isolated incident – more like a catalyst. Do they have goats in Spain?

WTA hot shot – finals – Rezai vs Venus.

Click here.

ATP hot shot – finals.

Click here.

Nadal after beating Federer @ Madrid.

Click here.

Federer after losing to Nadal @ Madrid.

Click here.

Rezai after beating Venus @ Madrid final.

Click here.

Nadal – Federer Final Madrid 2010 Último punto. From M. Thanks.

M

Photos.

Nadal makes history – at the expense of Federer – again.

Nadal earned his 7th Slam (winning 3 Masters equates to that, doesn’t it?). OK, not. Geeeeeeezzzzzz!!!! Why do facts have to spoil my freaking party? But of all the records Nadal established here the most prized one for him is this one: 14-7. For mentally challenged freaks that’s the H2H. Don’t even ask me against whom. Geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!

Nadal claimed all three Masters back to freaking back to freaking back. However, the second most gratifying log after the H2H for Nadal was that his knees were able to withstand just the Barcelona alteration to his schedule this season. Now he has a little more than a week to get ready for what’s it’s all about for him – Roland Garros.

If there was any doubt in the past, this year has finally established it once and for all: There’s not a human who can beat Nadal on clay. Period. That has NEVER EVER been said about anyone in the history of the game – irrespective of the surface. Even Federer on grass has been more vulnerable. All arguments should end there. There’s no ‘arguably’ BS attached to Nadal anymore. He IS the all time great on clay with the rest of the kingdom not settled yet.

Federer’s presence here and the close match made the win that much more sweeter for Nadal. Wonder where he would have been today if he and his team had not been a huge moron in the past and had whisked away Barcelona and more much earlier? No 1 rank and it’s magnetism prevented that obviously. Hope he leaves that rank alone and goes about his business for even greater possibilities awaiting him now.

Federer, I think, loses more motivation everytime he is unable to reach a clean winner from Nadal than against anyone else. His record against Nadal instantly flashes through his mind right about then to somehow impede for him to start fresh with the next point. Something dies within him every time Nadal outfoxes or outplays him specially after Federer has produced some of his best tennis. Remember those couple of shots when Federer produced colossal form? Even Federer had given up on the ball assuming it’s a winner. Not only did the ball come back, Federer had to hit another one of those shots to win the point – even when Nadal was sprawled all over the court.

That is mighty frustrating to anyone, but if you have the track record Federer has against Nadal it more than triples in the toll it takes. All this when Federer thankfully was able to avoid the erratic patch that’s crept in his game lately. Those unforced errors were not as blatant as they were even against Ferrer in the previous match. So Federer did produce some of his best tennis of the season – not of his career but not only fell short he fell short when Nadal was not at his best consistently.

Federer caught on to Nadal’s backhand late in the game to force a tie break in the second set but the mental block Federer has so prominently placed on his game largely halted Federer’s advance when it was all for the taking during the match. Federer had 11 freaking break points. That’s a huge achievement against today’s Nadal on any surface. To have that on clay is like the title being offered on the platter. Besides, his serve though not great still posted decent numbers – 69 percent. Just the combination of two right there should be more than enough against anyone else for Federer.

Nonetheless, for Federer, this was a step forward considering this was just his third final in his last 11 tournaments and the carnage he has behind him this season. Even though losing in straight sets sounds deflating the second set tie break and current conditions should carry enough weight to mitigate that pain significantly. As far as Roland Garros is concerned, Federer will have to build on it mightily to supplement the five-set advantage he will have on the big stage.

But this is clearly Nadal’s day – considering where he was just 12 months ago – with one heart-break after another to raise rumors of his demise from the sport of tennis forever. He worked hard at whatever was required and more than deserves the records and accolades flowing for him now.