| Saturday, 5 July 2008 Written by Byron Vale “People can say what they like,” Roger Federer before Wimbledon
People said that Roger Federer was finished. "It doesn’t change much for me. I like it when it’s praise. When it’s something else, when it's more critical, you tend to just forget about it and move on," he replied.
People said that after he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the French Open last month that he would never be the same player again. "I don't see any sense in dwelling on my performance on clay court. Honestly, that game is out of my head now."
People said that Federer's bid for a record sixth straight Wimbledon was doomed before it had begun. "If I was scared, I would not be here. I would simply call it a career and then I would have the record forever."
Federer – world number one, defending Wimbledon champion, unbeaten on grass in 65 matches, winner of 12 Grand Slams – has never been bothered by what other people say. It is not because he is rich, or arrogant, or unprofessional. He just does not care what people say because he knows something they don't.
"I know I'm playing very well, and from that standpoint I don't have much to worry about. And I know if I do play well, I'm most likely going to win the finals," Federer said on the eve of his match with Nadal.
What more can Federer do? He has reached the final without dropping a set, beating two Grand Slam champions and the last man to best him on grass on the way. Now Nadal, who he beat in the final for the past two years, is the only man that stands between him and history.
"Beating me or beating Rafa in a Grand Slam final, I think you can really say the guy deserved to win," Federer said. "The guy is the best on clay. Now it's the one who is best on grass.
"Beating your main rival is always obviously a big thrill. I've played Rafa on so many occasions on clay that obviously my head-to-head is not going to be the best against him. "But it is nice for myself to have created this chance and for him, as well to get all the way to the Wimbledon finals and play him on a different surface than clay. I hope that this works now in my advantage."
Federer has two key weapons in his arsenal: his serve and his sliced backhand return. This tournament, he has served 84 aces compared to Nadal's 40. In last year's final he served 24 aces to Nadal's one.
The sliced backhand will come into play when Federer is returning serve or if he is in trouble. Marat Safin said of the shot: "You can't really attack it, you can’t really do anything special with it." Which is Federer's way back into a point.
When Safin was later asked to pick a winner of a Federer-Nadal final, he seemed to be leaning towards the Spaniard, before adding: "Roger has to play his best tennis to be able to beat him."
The thing is, Federer usually does play his best tennis, it is the only way he knows how to play. He can play tennis on grass at a level that no other player can live with. And he knows that his best will win the day.
"[Nadal's] probably very happy with his run here at Wimbledon. We want a piece of each world, you know, but the other person hasn't given in yet," he said. And Roger has no intention of giving up his corner of the tennis world easily. No matter what people may say.
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