Roger Federer's Clay Season Preparations

The start of the Sony Ericsson tournament means that this portion of the hard-court season will give way to the arrival of the short but intense clay season. It is already well known that Roger Federer will be skipping at least the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters which will free up more of his time to work on the strategy of his clay game. 

One wonders what kind of preparation Roger will make to hone his game to give him a fighting chance to compete with Raphael Nadal on clay. Federer has only beaten Nadal on clay once back in 2007. 

Though he has been close a few times such as Rome in 2006, Nadal has completely dominated and silenced all critics to be dubbed as the greatest clay courter of all time. 

While there might not be any media pressure on Federer to win any clay events this year, there must be intense internal pressure from Federer himself to solve the riddle of Nadal on this surface. 

Perhaps studying video of previous matches might help Federer with any other opponent, but Nadal's game is constantly evolving. The Nadal of 2006 is not the same player as that of Nadal in 2009.

Roger probably wishes to get another crack at the past Nadal because the present Nadal is ever improving. 

Last year had to be Nadal's zenith on clay. The problem with reaching a peak (as Federer has experienced) is that it is difficult to improve when no one else is close to raising the bar. 

In 2008, Nadal did not drop a set for the entire French Open. 

It was such a feat of close perfection that he can only hope to equal it this year. That should be easier due to the fact that no one (not even Federer) is any where near approaching that level of intensity. 

So, how does Federer approach this problem? Pundits have been throwing out suggestions his way such as getting a coach, working on the backhand as well as various other areas of his game which could be construed as weakness.

Federer might consider hitting and practicing with Fernando Verdasco. 

Verdasco came so close to beating Nadal at the Australian Open. Verdasco is a left-hander and also a clay specialist. 

Federer can draw on some motivational factors to drive him to his first French Open championship. Instead of yelling out his usual "Come On!", he could yell "14!" He could motivate himself by the deep desire to pay Nadal back for last year's Wimbledon. 

However, vengeance would have to be served coldly and more importantly bluntly. Roger cannot hesitate with Nadal. His nerves and indecisiveness will work in Nadal's favor. 

Roger has recently said in an interview that his last match with Nadal was decided by a few points. This is an important fact that most of the media overlooks. It is quite easy just to look at the victories in Nadal's favor and declare him the dominant player. 

With the exception of the French Open in 2008, most of the Nadal-Federer matches have been nail biters. 

Both Wimbledon 2008 and the 2009 Australian Open were well within Federer's grasp to win. Roger played too many wonderful points against Nadal to be considered "dominated."

Hopefully, Roger will experiment with his game to prepare for the clay season and produce some surprises should he meet Nadal in the finals.

If he can mix it up against Rafa and come to play hard for as long as it takes, Roger Federer will discover that Paris can indeed be lovely in the springtime.