Match Analysis Federer vs Nadal: I’m going to analyses the 2014 Australian Open semi-final match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer; I share my opinion on why Nadal won and what Roger could have done differently.
Hello and welcome to my match analysis of Federer vs Nadal – Australian Open semi-final 2014. I will share my opinion on why Nadal won and what Roger could have done differently.
I’m looking forward to your feedback.
Rafa’s Strategy
- Attacking Roger’s backhand with heavy spin groundstrokes and slice on the the serve
- Open up the court with short angles to make Roger run and hence for him to commit errors
- Make Roger hit as many shots as possible – don’t give him quick points when returning serve
What Nadal Could Have Done Better
- Better conversion of break points → for example, he missed a makable passing shot at 3:3 15/40 in the 1st set
- Rafa only converted 29% of break points (4 of 14)
Roger’s Strategy
- Play more topspin backhands – less slice ⇒ backhand return & during rallies
- Federer comes to the net more - tries to play more aggressive
- plays serve & volley and tries to come to the net more
- keeps rallies short if possible
- Serve more to Rafa’s backhand – especially from deuce-court
What Roger Could Have Done Differently
- Needs to play more short angles, hitting the service boxes lateral corners, to open the court whenever he has a chance.
- He wasn’t able to get Rafa out wide enough, out of his comfort zone in order to get a short ball to attack or force Rafa to make errors.
- Most of the time Rafa was able to hit shots within the extensions of the sidelines
Conclusion
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal – he was the better player on this day – and good luck for the final against Wawrinka.
Thank you for watching and Auf Wiedersehen!
