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I hate to dredge up such unpleasant memories for Federer fans, but just how much of a flop was Federer's performance in the 2011 French Open final? He was clearly the better shotmaker and the more talented player, and the sad thing was that he was hitting his backhand really well that day.
He lost because he refused to hit more forehands up the line and inside-out instead of going cross-court into Gnatal's backhand, which allowed Federer's opponent to prolong rallies that should have ended much sooner in Federer's favor. What was especially brutal is how Federer choked away the first set after dominating to go up 5-2. He missed the drop shot at set point and then when Nadal had set point Fed had one of his vintage meathead moments of hitting a barrage of CC forehands that Nadal kept getting back, even though going inside-out had just won Federer a point when Nadal was up 40-30.
Looking back on this loss it has to be one of the most disappointing and inexcusable of Federer's career. Based on talent and shotmaking, he should have won this match in straight sets but did not because of terrible overall strategy. He was clearly the better and more talented player by a long shot.
It really is a shame looking back on it:
He lost because he refused to hit more forehands up the line and inside-out instead of going cross-court into Gnatal's backhand, which allowed Federer's opponent to prolong rallies that should have ended much sooner in Federer's favor. What was especially brutal is how Federer choked away the first set after dominating to go up 5-2. He missed the drop shot at set point and then when Nadal had set point Fed had one of his vintage meathead moments of hitting a barrage of CC forehands that Nadal kept getting back, even though going inside-out had just won Federer a point when Nadal was up 40-30.
Looking back on this loss it has to be one of the most disappointing and inexcusable of Federer's career. Based on talent and shotmaking, he should have won this match in straight sets but did not because of terrible overall strategy. He was clearly the better and more talented player by a long shot.
It really is a shame looking back on it:
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