Rafa Nadal will, once again, hoist the magnificently-named Coupe des Mousquetaires, while Roger Federer must content himself once more with that dinky deviled-egg platter.
French Open 2011: Roger Federer Takes Third Set, Trails Rafael Nadal 2-1 At Roland Garros
Results from Roland Garros as the French Open 2011 men’s final plays out in Paris.
Rafael Nadal leads Roger Federer, 7-5 7-6, 5-7. It wouldn’t be a true Red Team Blue Team matchup without at least some fight from the Red Team, and Federer has brought it, with finally a little luck on his side. He broke his own serve to drop to 4-2 in the third set, and then, from the gods, just what he needed: the exact opposite of that happening. Rafa’s shutout faceplant of a game took the score to 4-3; Federer took it to 4-4 before breaking Nadal again -- and, up 6-5, finally hit one of those points where Nadal just gave up on the possibility of return. And then, wonder of wonders, another. Nadal leads, two sets to one, but if anybody’s fit to survive another dip in an internationally televised pressure cooker, it’s the Maestro.
Read Article >French Open 2011: Rafael Nadal Takes Second Set, Leads Roger Federer 2-0
Results from Roland Garros as the French Open 2011 men’s final plays out in Paris.
Rafael Nadal leads Roger Federer, 7-5 7-6. Acing Nadal on point after point would be a great strategy for Federer at this point, as it would prevent him from making anymore boneheaded mistakes on return, but for much of the second set his touch seemed to have deserted him. The crowd seems to be behind him whenever he makes a feint at a comeback, as though they’re rooting to stay here all day, and why not? This match is one game into the third set and nearing the two and a half hour mark.
Read Article >French Open 2011, Rafael Nadal Vs. Roger Federer: Men’s Final Schedule And Preview
How does Roger Federer, the man who holds the record for the longest time spent as World No. 1, who holds 16 Slam titles (including a career Grand Slam completed two years ago) stroll into Roland Garros for the French Open 2011 as a virtual nonentity? The Swiss Maestro has dropped one set this entire tournament, and it came in the service of snapping Novak Djokovic’s record-reaching win streak in Friday’s semifinals. Following his second-round straight-sets victory, there were no press questions for Federer.
(You know you all just made him mad, right? This is the guy who takes the court with his own personal Nike crest embroidered all about his person.)
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