I have been reading about physics lately so I feel inspired to inform. (Though it may seem Nadal & Federer can warp space/time, translational symmetry ensures that the laws of physics do apply.) The camera angle used for most tennis (above and behind one baseline, namely the one that spells [M[E[L[B|O]U]R]N]E] ) compresses the depth of the court. It "foreshortens" the court giving the effect to us TV viewers that the balls are actually moving more slowly (ie. covering less distance in the same amount of time). My point being, these guys are hitting balls significantly faster than it appears. (Well described by DFW... "RFed as Religious Experience".) This is part of the reason early round matches played on the outer courts and filmed with eye-level cameras are fun to see. Whew! Fast serves and returns.
I'm not going to get into the physics of "hawk-eye" or "x-mo" unless we get stuck in some rain/heat delays... I think we have all mastered the C → F translation by now. 40°C = Hot. 50°C = RF HOT!
Mere moments away from Rafa/Nando... the Spaniards on nickname bases. Well, these guys were not ready to play, they are playing a waiting game... ¡Vamos! They don't realize it is 11pm Hawaiian.
Roddick. Let's be clear, he was completely outclassed by Federer. Federer broke him down and sent a message in Andy's second service game. After that it was never in doubt. Even though Andy did not play his absolute best tennis, it would not have mattered in the final result (he could have taken a set at most).
Here is my take on Federer/Nadal. This is a Jordan/Shaq matchup.
Federer is clutch. His record in majors at every stage is amazing. His winning percentage in Semis and Finals is unbelievable. And in non-majors his record in Finals is similarly insane. I attribute this to flow. Roger plays his game under control. When the matches get bigger, he has an ability to focus more and play better. Most of even the top pros exert and work at such a high energy level that they cannot relax or raise their game with Roger. They are not under control in the same way. I think it is more difficult for his competitors to find flow for that reason. They can't reach that state of relaxation and top play simultaneously. It as if Roger speeds up time for his opponent, while slowing down himself. When you saw Jordan at his prime he had an economy of motion that really wasn't matched by anyone during his championship runs. Federer has this same quality.
Nadal. I'm not entirely sure about Nadal. Due to his (relatively) poor results in hardcourt majors, I have not seen him play nearly as much as Federer (French Open matches are visually displeasing). I'm not sure if he gets to the same level as Federer in the control/flow department. Nadal has advantages with his power and spin. He is able to hit extremely powerfully yet consistently. My impression is that his game is so big it can build in a margin for error. When Federer is "on" his margin for error is small, but he doesn't make errors! Meanwhile, Nadal is just punishing in his approach. He can hit high over the net and deep into the court without aiming for lines. He is like Shaq. Shaq doesn't have to be "on" to have a big night. Jordan in a sense has to be "on" to take over the big games [I'll have to watch more of Nadal. What I'll be watching for tonight (and against Fed) is his return of service.]
