FEDAL: Fantasy or Reality?

by Kait O'Callahan

With any match - big or small - there are always crowd members that call out loudly in support of one player. Sometimes, it’s a desperate cry of support when a player needs it most, but more often than not, it’s a brash man who has had too much beer.  These people, with their face paint and loud hollering, often take the title ‘fan of the day’. However, they’re not.  Next time you’re at a sporting event, take a careful look around.  If you spot someone with their brow furrowed, their hands clenched, and a trickle of sweat dripping down their neck, you’ve found a passionate fan.  These people won’t shout in important moments, they’re too busy praying.  They’re so superstitious they’ll hold the same position point by point, but when finally they let it all out, you won’t hear a louder yell.  These are the real fans, and most of you can probably claim to be one.

I was one for the first set of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s semi-final.  I was that silent Roger fan, making all sorts of deals with Gods in my head in return for a Federer win.  I’m not religious or even superstitious, but when I’m behind a player I really like, I’m suddenly all these things.  Thankfully the foggy fandom clouding my head began to clear in the second set.  I began to see the match for what it was.

Roger Federer didn’t play a great tennis match tonight.  His forehand missed often, his first serve was only good in patches, and most importantly, he wasn’t clutch at the key moments.  He had multiple opportunities on Nadal’s serve, and but failed to pull ahead cleanly in any of the last three sets and would gift breaks back as soon as he had gained one.  He fought, as Federer always does, but he never really found his rhythm.  Worst of all was probably his net play.  He almost came to net in panic, and netted as many volleys as Tomas Berdych had done two nights ago.

Rafael Nadal played better than Roger Federer, but I don’t think his uncle will be thrilled with his form.  He stood too far back on the return, and played very passively on break point opportunities, looping forehands half-court.  Other than in tight moments, Nadal’s forehand was on, and he ran around his backhand effectively to rip that shot from all angles.  Nadal also served well, especially at important moments.  A major weakness was his backhand; an opponent with a better ability to exploit it will cause problems for Nadal.  For someone who fared far better than his opponent on the statistics side of things, the scoreline was too close.  He’ll be wanting to improve when he plays the final in two nights time.

It was the first Federer/Nadal match I’d ever attended, and it was number forty-nine for the fortnight.  I went in expecting the highest quality tennis yet, instead, I got a reasonable match with a fairly predictable outcome.  Yes, there were moments of brilliance.  But there were far more times I shook my head in disappointment.

Does the hype around Federer/Nadal mean we see those matches as better than they really are, especially as a fan?  Are all their matches really deserving of the endless columns and words dripping with praise, considering the outcome is almost always the same?  Or perhaps I am being harsh, and was unlucky to see one of the more average encounters.  Maybe the next time I see them, I’ll wonder why I ever wrote these words at all.  I hope that is the case.

Photo:  Getty Images

Kait O'Callahan also has her own tennis blog Any Given Surface.  To follow her on Twitter, click here.