The world awaits for the El-Classico of tennis as Rafael Nadal faces Roger Federer in the semifinal of the French Open 2019 on Friday. Rafael Nadal is chasing his record 12th Roland Garros title while Roger Federer would be looking to defeat Nadal for the first time on Parisian clay.
Roger Federer came back to the biggest clay court event after missing the tournament for four years. Rafael Nadal feels that the Swiss will play aggressively with nothing to lose attitude. He said, “Federer plays differently than he played against me 7 or 8 years ago. If Federer doesn’t want to play long rallies, we don’t play long rallies. I will need to adapt”.
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“There are no two matches the same,” said Rafael Nadal ahead of his match against Federer.
Rafael Nadal has never lost a semifinal at the French Open and he expects that Federer will play differently than before. He said, “We always try things. Let’s see. Let’s see what’s going on. I really expect that he’s gonna play aggressive, changing rhythms, going to the net. That’s my feeling.”
Rafael Nadal agreed that aggressive style has been working for the 20-time grand slam champion. He said, “Roger will try to play an aggressive match of course. That’s working so far and if I were him, I would not change it.”
The Spaniard added, “His game style is different than the ones of some years ago, now he is more aggressive and tries to avoid the longer rallies, which did not happen in the past. In the end, he can have a similar game plan as eight years ago, but he changes some details over time.”
However, the 11-time French Open champion, Rafael Nadal seems to have a clear plan against Federer. He continued, “I have to be solid. I have to hit the ball strong enough to allow him to do the things from good positions. I need to force him to play from difficult positions, so from there, he has fewer chances to go to the net or to play his aggressive game. If I am able to play good tennis and play well with my forehand and backhand, I hope to put him in trouble. If not, I will be in trouble”
