Why Didn't I Think of That?
The greatest grass-court player of all time. The greatest clay-court player of all time. Two completely different surfaces, favoring different playing styles, dominated like never before by two contemporaries. Some say the neutral surface is on the hardcourts of Flushing Meadows. But how about this?
No, this isn't a Photoshop trick. Last night, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played an exhibition match in Spain on a specially made half-grass, half-clay court that cost over $1.5 million and took three weeks to prepare.
Federer hasn't lost on grass in 48 straight matches over four years, including four straight Wimbledon titles, and Nadal hasn't lost on clay in a record 72 straight matches over three years, including two straight French Open titles. Sick, sick dominance.
So who won? Hometown favorite Nadal, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10), the tight match finishing with each player on his dominant surface. Great trophy.
Hopefully this turns into an annual matchup between the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champions, which, for the forseeable future, means many more rematches between Federer and Nadal.
No, this isn't a Photoshop trick. Last night, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played an exhibition match in Spain on a specially made half-grass, half-clay court that cost over $1.5 million and took three weeks to prepare.
Federer hasn't lost on grass in 48 straight matches over four years, including four straight Wimbledon titles, and Nadal hasn't lost on clay in a record 72 straight matches over three years, including two straight French Open titles. Sick, sick dominance.
So who won? Hometown favorite Nadal, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10), the tight match finishing with each player on his dominant surface. Great trophy.
Hopefully this turns into an annual matchup between the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champions, which, for the forseeable future, means many more rematches between Federer and Nadal.
posted by Chang Kim at Thursday, May 03, 2007
4 Comments:
ugh, i just lost to a girl
Try to recruit her to Stanford!
Isn't that court unfair? Nadal on clay benefits Nadal, because it slows down the ball so he can use his speed to get to every ball. Federer needs grass on his opponents side, so his shots skip away from them faster.
Haha, they played a normal match, switching after every odd game. They didn't stay on their favored surface. :)
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