2011 French Open Final: Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer Live Blog
By on June 5, 2011
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Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Salut toute le monde! B/R Intern Jaideep Vaidya here bringing you a live blog of the 2011 French Open men's final between...you know it...Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer!
The two heavyweights are meeting for the first time at Roland Garros since Nadal annihilated Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 three years ago and the Majorcan is the clear favourite in today's blockbuster.
But tournament underdog Roger Federer is fresh off putting an end to Novak Djokovic's 43-match unbeaten run and you can write him off at your own peril!
So grab those potato chips and sodas and join me for the next few hours of what promises to be an epic slug-fest on the Parisian clay!
We hope you've enjoyed Bleacher Report's live blog of the 2011 French Open men's final! Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Hope to see you again next time! Until then, this is Jaideep Vaidya signing out. Ciao!
The areas where Federer lost the match:
- Unforced Errors
- First Serve percentage
- Break Point conversion
The full match statistics (via http://www.rolandgarros.com/):
| Nadal | Federer | |||
| 1st Serve % | 106 of 147 = 72 % | 80 of 126 = 63 % | ||
| Aces | 4 | 11 | ||
| Double Faults | 3 | 1 | ||
| Unforced Errors | 27 | 56 | ||
| Winning % on 1st Serve | 69 of 106 = 65 % | 55 of 80 = 69 % | ||
| Winning % on 2nd Serve | 21 of 41 = 51 % | 18 of 46 = 39 % | ||
| Winners (Including Service) | 39 | 53 | ||
| Receiving Points Won | 53 of 126 = 42 % | 57 of 147 = 39 % | ||
| Break Point Conversions | 7 of 15 = 47 % | 5 of 15 = 33 % | ||
| Net Approaches | 10 of 18 = 56 % | 30 of 41 = 73 % | ||
| Total Points Won | 143 | 130 | ||
| Fastest Serve Speed | 204 KMH | 208 KMH | ||
| Average 1st Serve Speed | 172 KMH | 192 KMH | ||
| Average 2nd Serve Speed | 143 KMH | 157 KMH | ||
| Serve and Volley Points Won | 0 of 0 = 0 % | 7 of 10 = 70 % | ||
Roger Federer got off to the best of starts and was hitting the ball confidently, but a break in concentration led Nadal to win seven games on the trot.
A rain interruption towards the end of the second set allowed Federer to regroup and go on to take the match into a fourth set.
But Rafael Nadal wasn't going to allow the Swiss to turn around the match like he himself did earlier on. He played a near-perfect fourth set to end Federer's faint hopes of a second French Open title.
Nadal is now on-par with the great Bjorn Borg in terms of Roland Garros titles and has lived up to his tag of being the undisputed "King of Clay"!
And he's done it!
Rafael Nadal drops to his knees as Federer's shot goes long, winning the Spaniard his sixth Roland Garros title and 10th Grand Slam!
Nadal breaks Federer again to make it 5-1 and serve for the set and match.
The record-equaling sixth Coupe des Mousquetaires is within touching distance!
Nadal takes a 4-1 lead after backing out of play following a dubious line call. The Spaniard turned out to be right after the Chair Umpire's inspection.
Federer serves his first double-fault of the match and it has cost him as he surrenders his serve.
Nadal leads the fourth set 3-1.
Nadal makes it 2-1 in the fourth set with a massive forehand winner. Federer to serve...
Nadal fends off three break points to win the first game of the fourth set.
A huge opportunity gone begging there for Federer after leading 40-0 on Nadal's serve.
Will this be yet another turning point?
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Federer serves a faultless service game to take the match into a fourth set.
Federer has used the drop shot to perfection winning all six he played in the third set.
He's also won seven out of eight net plays in this set.
Not 20 minutes ago you would have thought he's done and dusted with! But you tend to forget, he's Roger Federer!
And the Swiss Maestro breaks Nadal as we touch the three-hour mark!
Is this the break Federer was looking for?
Super stuff!
Federer says, "I'm not done yet!" as he makes it 5-5 in the third set.
Are we heading towards another tie-breaker?
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Nadal replies with a perfect service game to take the lead in the match at 7-5, 7-6, 5-4.
Can he finish things off in the next game?
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Federer is using the drop to shot to perfection as he makes it 4-4.
It's smart play from the Swiss what with the balls keeping low due to the rain.
Nadal's going to need a few more nails to down this coffin! Federer breaks right back to make it 3-4.
What a match we're having here!
Nadal breaks Federer in the sixth game of the third set to make it 4-2.
Was that the final nail in the coffin?
Federer bludgeons a cross-court forehand to make it 2-2 in the third set.
He has to find a way and break Nadal if he wants to stand any chance of a comeback.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Federer makes it 1-1 in the third set with a trademark backhand sliced drop shot.
Nadal takes the second set in a tie-breaker.
Is it all over for Federer or can he fight back?
The rain seems to have receded and we're back people!
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Federer, who started off brightly, hasn't really gotten back from those three straight breaks of serve he suffered towards the end of the first set.
His confidence is low but there were shades of it coming back as he broke Nadal in the eighth game of the second set.
Confidence will be the deciding factor in this match from here on (and rain, perhaps!) and it'll be interesting to see how both players come out from the break.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Nadal's seems to have gotten over his start-of-the-game jitters and has got back that power-packed forehand which had eluded him earlier.
If he continues the way he's playing, I don't see how he can lose this game from now.
As you can see, Federer still has Nadal's number on winners (38:16) but he's taking a beating on the unforced errors (32:14).
He also needs to get up his 1st Serve percentage.
Here are the stats so far (via http://www.rolandgarros.com/):
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