A picture can sooo tell a thousand words, right?
If you take the winning faces of Roger Federer in Halle and Rafael Nadal at Queen's Club and compare them who seems the most confident, enthusiastic and, most importantly, looks like he has the belief he'll grab the Wimbledon title in three weeks time??
I have my guess...
(images via Getty)
Monday, June 16, 2008
PHOTO OP: Fed, Rafa and a tale of two reactions
Labels: photo op, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, tennis
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I was in the crowd at queens and rafa was the overwhelming favourite...he got much love from the queens crowd. Fabulous tennis to watch...looking forward to wimbledon!!
ReplyDeleteyou were mereana? lucky!!! what a treat.
ReplyDeletetell me you took some great photos? i'd def post them for you (of course with on page credit).
let me know: tips@downthelinetennis.com
Or it could mean that one's just ho-humming through his 10th grass title while the other one was ecstatic to get his 1st.
ReplyDeleteboth facts are true anon-2:16 but Fed may not want to be ho-humming right now with two small titles to his name this year and two very eager, energized capable ballers breathing down his nike shirt.
ReplyDeletei think fed's biggest problem with rafa and nole is he can't match their energy or intensity throughout an entire match. i don't know - maybe it's completely internal but he might want to try and pump himself more.
In terms of being an athlete, there's a HUGE difference between being 22 and 27. I fear Roger Federer has won his last slam already. He's going to need Gil Reyes to win another one.
ReplyDeletehave to disagree. the intensity of the match probably affects the intensity of emotion at the end. rafa had to dig his way out of being truly outplayed by novak in the beginning of their match. roger was never in doubt. think about rafa's muted reaction at roland garros because he knew from the beginning of the final that it was in the bag.
ReplyDeletegood point anon-4:04 i definitely agree with your observation.
ReplyDeletebut there's something to be said about the intensity rafa and nole bring to the court which fed, at least in his last matches with either baller, has been lacking.
it's been said that rafa plays every point like a match point - that's a tough hill to climb as an opponent and it's got to be suffocating which seemed like fed's big issue in the french final. no room to breathe.
Hey Rich. Federer's look is definitely ho-hum, which is only fitting for what he did by winning Halle. There were no players there that had ever really tested him. Nadal won the tournament that had the cream of the crop grass-court players contesting it.
ReplyDeleteI still think Roger will be way more than OK. But it would've been a great statement to have won Queens rather than what Halle looked like this year, a couple of steps above a challenger.