Federer and Nadal to faceoff in Basel Finals

By Tia Ko

Nadal

1^st Round: Nadal d. Rosol 1-6 7-5 7-6

2^nd Round: Nadal d. Dimitrov 6-4 4-6 6-3

Quarterfinals: Nadal d. Cilic 4-6 6-3 6-3

Semifinals: Nadal d. Gasquet 6-4 7-6

When the going got tough in Basel, Rafael Nadal was able to find an extra gear. Every match was physically and mentally demanding for the 3^rd seed who played three sets in 3 out of 4 of his matches this week. It’s a grind each time he plays but that’s just the Spaniard’s style. Early in the opening set, Nadal missed an easy overhead smash which led to a break for Gasquet to lead 2-0. Nadal was able to break back and his movement on the court was more fluid; he was moving forward every opportunity and putting pressure on Gasquet’s forehand. He went to the net 21 times. Nadal took the first set 6-4. The second set put Nadal in a bit of trouble as Gasquet was able to hit with him from the baseline and take short balls early. Gasquet broke and was serving for the second set but he ended up double faulting and giving Nadal the break back. In the tie-break, the Frenchman was also up 6-4 but Nadal came up with some amazing winners to win 9-7. With that loss, Gasquet is officially out of the run for the ATP World Tour Finals and the top eight have been determined with David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori taking the last two spots.

Federer

1^st Round: Federer d. Kukushkin 6-1 6-2

2^nd Round: Federer d. Kohlschreiber 6-4 4-6 6-4

Quarterfinals: Federer d. Goffin 6-3 3-6 6-1

Semifinals: Federer d. Sock 6-3 6-4

Federer was able to break and consolidate early in the first set 4-1. Federer had a chance to take the first set on Sock’s serve when the American was down 0-30 on his serve but after three errors and an ace, Sock was able to hold. Federer served out the first set to win 6-3. His first serve percentage was the best it was all week at 74% while winning 87% of the points on it. The Swiss also had 11 winners vs. 3 from Sock. Federer was up at the net a lot as well winning 9/9 attempts. Federer got another break in the second set to serve at 2-1. Roger used the SABR to go up 30-15 on Sock’s serve and went on to break him to go up 4-1. The unseeded Sock was able to get one of those breaks back to serve at 3-5 but still trailed 4-5. Roger would have another chance to serve out the match and this time he didn’t let it slip off his racquet; he won the second set 6-4. 

This will be the first time that Nadal and Federer have played against each other since the Australian Open semifinals back in 2014. Nadal has won 9 of the last 11 meetings and form has undoubtedly improved over the past month, as he was able to reach the finals in Beijing during the China Open and the semifinals in Shanghai. Will Roger be able to get one of those back tomorrow? He’s in his hometown of Basel and will be eyeing his eighth title before heading to Paris for the BNP Masters next week.