Roger Federer and the Enigma Called Rafael Nadal

At the end of 2007, few would have doubted that the mighty Roger Federer would have trouble equalling and maybe even eclipsing Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slams the very next year.

He was in magnificent form. No one seemed close to come within touching distance of him, but for the exception of one Rafa Nadal and that too on one surface—the clay courts of Roland Garros. Even Rafa had trouble keeping up with Federer on any surface other than the clay.

The only dent in Federer's impressive collection of records and trophies was the missing French Open title and even that, most people claimed, he would win eventually. He was simply too good and too complete a player. That was 2007.

Now, around 14 months later, the landscape has changed dramatically. For one, the name that you will see at the top of the ATP tennis rankings is no longer Roger Federer, it is now Rafael Nadal.

The defending champion at Wimbledon, what most people regarded as Roger's very own back yard, is no longer Roger Federer, it now is Rafael Nadal. The record for the most number of Grand Slams won still is with Pete Sampras because suddenly the man who was used to picking up a minimum of two and more often three Grand Slam titles a year has managed to win just the one title, at the U.S. Open last year, out of the five he's played in the past 14 months. For most people that would be a dream; for the great Swiss, it was almost a nightmare.

Roger started 2008 without a sufficient warm-up before he began his defence of his crown at the Australian Open. The reason at that time was thought to be a stomach bug. The effect? Roger failed to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time since 2005. He lost in the semis to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic. It was the first time Federer lost a match in a Grand Slam in straight sets. The tennis world was a bit stunned but dismissed it as a mere hiccup. Roger himself claimed that though uncharacteristic, it was not the end of the world if he occasionally lost and that he had "created a monster."

In March 2008, Roger's team disclosed that he had been recently diagnosed with mononucleosis and while he was recovering from it, it had hindered his off-season practice and his Australian Open campaign. Still, he went on to play his usual series of clay court events and though he seemed a bit slow and off the mark, we all assumed he would be back to his sharp, precise self.

Federer entered Roland Garros with only one title to his name, a clay court tournament in Estoril. Still he went through most of his matches unhindered and set up yet another title clash with the clay master himself—Nadal. The two had played previously that year on the clay of Hamburg, with Federer unable to defend his title to Rafa. Still, this was a Grand Slam, and that too the only one missing from Federer's trophy cabinet, so everybody expected him to give Rafa a run for his money.

What we witnessed instead was a sheer decapitation of Roger at the hands of Rafa. In the 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 trouncing that Federer got, not once did he look close to the form and brilliance that made many people consider him the greatest player of all time!

Maybe Federer was still recovering from his illness, maybe he was having a really bad day, or maybe the pressure of getting the one missing title completely got to the then World No. 1. Either way, he ended up losing his third successive French Open to the same man—Rafael Nadal.

While the sheer battering of Federer in this manner was unexpected, the fact that he was playing the clay master on his beloved surface did not make anyone realize the extent to which Rafa would have damaged Roger's confidence.

Less than a month later the pair met again for the sixth time in a Grand Slam final at the hallowed grounds of SW19—Roger's beloved Wimbledon, with Rafa having won the previous three meetings at Roland Garros and Roger taking the two at Wimbledon. Rafa that year had clearly improved tremendously. He reached his best result at the Australian Open by getting to the semis and aside from his usual sweep of the clay, he had also won at Queens on the grass—a first for Rafa.

Roger in comparison and by his own lofty standards was having a pretty tame year with just two titles at relatively low-key events. But this was Wimbledon, this was Roger's turf. Aiming for his sixth staright title, no matter what Rafa threw at him surely he would not go down as tamely as he did a month back.

The match started with Rafa taking sets 1 and 2. Perhaps the crushing defeat at Roland Garros was still playing on his mind, perhaps the knowledge that his opponent was closing in on his No. 1 ranking was eating away his confidence.

But then Set 3 saw a different Roger, one who refused to give up his beloved Wimbledon title without a fight. And through the endless rain interruptions and the fading light, fight he did. In the end, sadly, after the longest final, filled with the most out-of-this world tennis that Wimbledon has seen in a while, Rafael Nadal emerged victorious! He had defeated the King of Grass on his own turf!

By Roger's own admission it was one of his most devastating losses and while he'll be the first to admit that Nadal deserved to win, he must have felt hugely disappointed by the fact that his unbelievable run at Wimbledon had been thwarted by the same man who by denying him a victory at the French Open time and time again has stood in his way of greatness that in Nadal's absence would have without a question been Roger's.

In the aftermath, Roger even ended up losing his World No. 1 ranking to Nadal and the only consolation he got in an otherwise bleak year for him was his successful defence of his U.S. Open title. It was however not Nadal that Federer beat to claim the title. Had Roger had a chance to take on Rafa and beat him there, it would have been a much needed confidence boost. Instead he faced a weak challenge from Andy Murray before he claimed his fifth straight U.S. Open and 13th overall Grand Slam title.

While Roger may have been a bit off through most of 2008, in 2009 at the Aussie Open he seemed to be in deadly form. Dispatching his opponents with clinical precision, it appeared the old Roger was back. The only time before the finals that he was challenged was in his match against Berdych where he fell two sets behind, before he came back strongly to win in five.

With Sampras' record of 14 grand slams beckoning, Roger went into the finals feeling confident and ready to take on his Spanish nemesis.

The match however did not go quite as Roger planned. It started ominously for Roger, as he failed to hold serve in the opening game. As the match played out we saw two distinct sides of Roger—one was the fluid master in full flow who was hitting the most incredible shots and unbelievable returns to create a number of opportunities for himself.

The other side of Roger, however, was the one that caused his downfall in the match. This side was constantly missing out on opportunities to capitalise on his chances, this side seemed almost un-confident that he would win.

Eventually in a see-saw match that went on for over four hours, his serve gave way almost completely and in the end Nadal dropped on the floor to celebrate his first Grand Slam on the hard courts. A few years ago we were all speculating when Roger would win at Roland Garros and complete a career Grand Slam that most people think he fully deserves.

Instead, by winning the Australian Open, Rafa himself is only short of conquering Flushing Meadows in his own bid for the career Grand Slam. The French Open for Federer has never seemed farther away.

So this makes one wonder, what is it that happens to Federer while facing Nadal? How is it that this sheer genius and master of the game who even today can dispatch most of his opponents with almost embarrassing ease struggles to find his way past Nadal?

True, their games are as different as night and day, and yes Roger does have trouble facing the heavy topspin shots coming from the Spanish lefty. Still, he's mastered almost everyone and everything else, all except Nadal, that is. The main problem for Roger is not that he does not have the game to match Nadal, because I believe he does. As we saw in the spellbinding Wimbledon final and throughout the Aussie Open matchup, he can match Rafa. Where he loses his matches is in his head. Its like Rafael Nadal has gotten inside Roger's head so much that he no longer has the self belief that he can defeat Rafa.

Roger Federer needs to urgently restore that belief in himself if he is to go up against Rafa and come out winning those encounters. With the record books beckoning him, Roger Federer needs to get over this mental block he has while he faces Nadal and get in there and win the matches on his talent and ability that we all know he has.

And while I think we will not see the same utter dominance from Federer that we were privileged to a few years back, we will still see him win more Grand Slams as he cements his place in history. He is too good and too brilliant a player to let one man stand in the way of him and his destiny—of becoming an undisputed tennis legend!