The Score Speaks Volumes
Rafael Nadal has continued his winning ways against Roger Federer in the past few weeks. Nadal beat Federer a couple weeks ago 6-4 6-4 on a clay court at the ATP Masters Series event in Monte Carlo and then again yesterday 7-5 4-6 7-6 (12-10) in an entertaining exhibition match, “The Battle of the Surfaces,” in which half the court was clay and the other half was grass. Much has been made about Nadal’s impressive win streak
on clay and winning record against Federer. However, what these matches illustrate is exactly how much the competition between Nadal and Federer is really about what’s in the head rather than what’s underneath the feet. When you lose 6-4 6-4 and 12-10 in the third set tiebreaker, it’s a head game. As the legendary Boris Becker said, “the fifth set is all about the mind…”
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