Chapter 1495 Channel Switching
As of 2015, Nadal has won Wimbledon twice in his career, and the Australian Open only once; but fans who are really familiar with Nadal should know that Nadal's hard court performance is definitely not weak, and Wimbledon is Nadal's Achilles heel.
Looking at the records of the four Grand Slams, the tournament where Nadal has the fewest wins, the lowest winning percentage and the worst average performance is Wimbledon. The only time in his career he was eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam also happened at Wimbledon in 2013. His winning percentage on grass is also the lowest among the Big Four.
Ultimately, it is because the bounce of the grass is very low, which not only does not absorb spin, resulting in Nadal's super topspin being unable to exert its power here; and the pace is very fast, relying on serves and attacks to establish the game, and the battle is often over in the first three shots, which is incompatible with Nadal's game style of slowly building up an advantage by fighting around the baseline.
In fact, it's just like Nadal and Federer: one is suitable for clay, the other is suitable for grass, and even the blood flowing in their bodies is completely different.
The two players are so different and so distinctive, from style to type to talent, everything is like this. It is precisely because of this that the "Federer-Nadal Final" can always collide to create incredible sparks, like a song of ice and fire, writing a magnificent chapter in the history of men's tennis.
2006, 2007, 2008, those were the most incredible and wonderful years for ATP——
For three consecutive years, Federer and Nadal met at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
At Roland Garros, Nadal is the king of clay, defeating Federer to reach the top for three consecutive years.
At Wimbledon, Federer is the king of grass, defeating Nadal to the top for two consecutive years in 2006 and 2007, and then coming to the legendary 2008.
It was in that year that Federer and Nadal had their peak showdown at the Centre Court of Wimbledon. The two players teamed up to present a fierce battle that lasted four hours and 48 minutes. Nadal won the first two sets, and Federer fought back from the edge of the cliff, winning two tiebreaks to tie the score.
In the deciding set, the two players fought back and forth, neither giving an inch, and the game was in a stalemate all the way. This great match had to be decided in a long set.
There are no night matches at Wimbledon. When it is dark, the referee has the power to decide whether to continue the match or postpone it to the next day.
At that time, the duel continued until it was getting dark. The batting vision of both players had been obviously affected. Just when everyone was worried that they might not be able to witness the end of this peak duel today, Nadal broke the serve.
"9:7".
In the end, just as Federer ended Nadal's 81-game winning streak on clay, Nadal also ended Federer's epic 65-game winning streak on grass and 40-game winning streak at Wimbledon, winning the Wimbledon championship for the first time in his career and the first Grand Slam championship outside of the French Open.
"Epic Battle"! Later, even in the distant future, the 2008 Wimbledon final was still considered by countless experts and fans to be the greatest match of all time.
It's not just because of the game itself, and not just because the two players competed in two Grand Slams on different venues for three consecutive years, but also because the competition between Federer and Nadal beyond the victory or defeat on the court was perfect, and finally created a classic.
However, 2008 was seven years ago. The world has changed dramatically. The rise of Djokovic and Murray is a thing of the past, while the impact of Wawrinka and Gawain is still ongoing. Nadal's career has also been plagued by various injuries. The once wind-chasing boy is now nearly 30 years old.
Slowly, Nadal's shortcomings in grass events were exposed as he aged and suffered more injuries. His performance at Wimbledon in the past three years has been unsatisfactory:
2012, second round; 2013, first round; 2014, fourth round.
In other words, they only won four games in three years.
Turning our attention back to this season, Nadal's condition has further hit rock bottom, and the challenges and impacts of the grass season are full of uncertainties.
What’s worse, there is no time to rest from the clay court season to the grass court season.
After the hard court season ends in the spring, there is actually one to two weeks of adjustment time for players to change their rhythm; but after the clay court season ends, there is no such time. The grass court season begins the day after Roland Garros ends, which is a seamless transition, and players must complete the adjustment and transition on their own.
Like the "Sunshine Double", it is necessary to constantly improve the condition in a short period of time and meet the double challenges in terms of mental and physical fitness; it is more difficult than the "Sunshine Double". After all, Indian Wells and Miami are both hard courts, and only the details need to be adjusted, but clay and grass are completely different things.
The difficulty can be imagined.
It is for this reason that, for a long time, winning the French Open and Wimbledon consecutively was considered a feat and had a special title: "Channel Slam".
"Channel" is like changing tracks or switching modes. It expresses the huge difference and distinct distinction between the two venues in this way; it also expresses the difficulty of performing well in two venues continuously in this way.
Of course, for top players, changing venues is not a big problem. What is really tested is the basic skills.
Federer and Nadal also had a special exhibition match:
There are red clay on one side and grass on the other side of the court. The two players still rotate as usual in a normal game, constantly changing the venue. This also means that both players must constantly adjust their pace and state to complete the shot.
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Especially in modern tennis, with the improvement of racket and shoe technology, players' styles, shots and tactics on different venues are changing less and less. The feeling of venue change is also gradually weakening. The switch between clay and grass seems to no longer be a problem. Many players basically do not change their playing tactics and use one unique trick to travel the world.
But for Nadal, who has been plagued by injuries and poor form, this is not good news. Before he has time to digest the painful defeat at Roland Garros, the grass court season has arrived. Everything is too compact and intensive, and there is a serious lack of breathing space.
The only good thing is that this is not Nadal's first season.
Year after year, they are experiencing the same story, from clay to grass, seamless transition, professional players have become accustomed to it, they slowly figure out their own ways and routines, complete the transition, adapt, and strive to give their best performance.
For those rookies who have just entered the ATP, there is no other way but to experience it personally, to take part in the competition themselves, and to accumulate experience through actual combat one game at a time and one season at a time. Maybe they will be flustered and at a loss at the beginning, so that their performance will be terrible, but slowly, they will become old hands, get used to the earth-shaking changes of the Channel Slam, and begin to learn to enjoy it.
Gao Wen was a little nervous and a little apprehensive, but more of an expectant and excited person. He was gearing up to step into the grass court season and take on new challenges.
(End of this chapter)