So now that Raffa has won the French a second time, if you were coaching The Fed, what would you advise him to do?
Tips for the over 60 crowd by the over 60 crowd!
So now that Raffa has won the French a second time, if you were coaching The Fed, what would you advise him to do?
Federer has more options than any other player. But against Nadal on clay, this variety to his game actually hurts him. Nadal has time on clay to react to most options allowing him to setup for those intense topspin shots.
I think Federer should actually reduce his variety and begin most points by hitting hard and deep in the direction of Nadal and try to gain a court position advantage (trying to move inside the baseline) and only go for the hard, angled winner (away from Nadal) after gaining some court advantage. I’m not saying go to the net because Nadal has a killer passing shot, but move up a bit and try to take the ball early. Federer should hit fewer drop shots and fewer slice backhands. Try to hit a bit flatter in the direction of the runner.
Mark: i think that is a great perspective! Take away his angles by not giving him any.