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A quote from Bonnie D. Ford
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U.S. Davis Cup captain and ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe, who will guide his team against a Federer-led Swiss squad in next month's first-round encounter, was one of several observers who renewed the suggestion that Federer may need a full-time coach to help him solve the riddle Nadal poses.
McEnroe isn't nearly ready to say Federer is on the south side of his career, but he said his game plan and positioning were too predictable against Nadal, especially on return games.
Roger Federer could not contain his disappointment after falling to Rafael Nadal, once again, in the grandest of stages. "He succumbed to the pressure, for whatever reason," McEnroe said of Federer's loss of momentum in the fifth set. "Obviously, the guy's in his head. That's pretty clear at this point.
"The problem for him is that he's never had to really adjust to anything. He's always been so good and so talented, he could just rely on his game and kind of figure it out when he gets out there. All of a sudden, he's playing a guy he can't do that against. … He doesn't get on top of the guy when he's down, and he thought he was going to go away physically."
Former Swedish great Mats Wilander was even more emphatic, saying the rivalry tipped to Nadal's advantage "a long time ago."
"After [last year's] French Open, you knew it was going to take a lot to beat Nadal on any surface, because of the mental block [Federer] has," Wilander said. "I mean, there's something wrong, for sure. It seems like it's time to get a coach. He needs to explore more avenues than he has."
Depleted by then-undiagnosed mononucleosis, Federer still made it to the semifinals here last year. He declared then that his excellence during the previous four seasons had created a "monster" of cumulative expectations that were weighing him down. That burden seemed to get lighter when he won the U.S. Open in the fall, but it has been replaced.
Nadal is the fire-breathing beast keeping Federer from the treasure he wants now, not some intangible standard.
"I'm still surprised how quickly the mood swings with the media, with the fans, with everybody," Federer said earlier in the tournament. "You don't lose your edge that quickly. It's just not possible. I know I'm playing well. I feel good. I know sometimes you can always run into a player that's hot and you can lose."
Well, now he has. "Maybe I'll try again later," a gutted Federer told the crowd Sunday as he backed away from the microphone at center court, clutching the silver plate awarded to the tournament runner-up, temporarily unable to finish his remarks. The tearful comment is a promise. This proud and gracious player hasn't been pushed off the high wire by any means, but this match showed more than any other that he's going to have his hands full keeping his balance.
Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.
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U.S. Davis Cup captain and ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe, who will guide his team against a Federer-led Swiss squad in next month's first-round encounter, was one of several observers who renewed the suggestion that Federer may need a full-time coach to help him solve the riddle Nadal poses.
McEnroe isn't nearly ready to say Federer is on the south side of his career, but he said his game plan and positioning were too predictable against Nadal, especially on return games.
Roger Federer could not contain his disappointment after falling to Rafael Nadal, once again, in the grandest of stages. "He succumbed to the pressure, for whatever reason," McEnroe said of Federer's loss of momentum in the fifth set. "Obviously, the guy's in his head. That's pretty clear at this point.
"The problem for him is that he's never had to really adjust to anything. He's always been so good and so talented, he could just rely on his game and kind of figure it out when he gets out there. All of a sudden, he's playing a guy he can't do that against. … He doesn't get on top of the guy when he's down, and he thought he was going to go away physically."
Former Swedish great Mats Wilander was even more emphatic, saying the rivalry tipped to Nadal's advantage "a long time ago."
"After [last year's] French Open, you knew it was going to take a lot to beat Nadal on any surface, because of the mental block [Federer] has," Wilander said. "I mean, there's something wrong, for sure. It seems like it's time to get a coach. He needs to explore more avenues than he has."
Depleted by then-undiagnosed mononucleosis, Federer still made it to the semifinals here last year. He declared then that his excellence during the previous four seasons had created a "monster" of cumulative expectations that were weighing him down. That burden seemed to get lighter when he won the U.S. Open in the fall, but it has been replaced.
Nadal is the fire-breathing beast keeping Federer from the treasure he wants now, not some intangible standard.
"I'm still surprised how quickly the mood swings with the media, with the fans, with everybody," Federer said earlier in the tournament. "You don't lose your edge that quickly. It's just not possible. I know I'm playing well. I feel good. I know sometimes you can always run into a player that's hot and you can lose."
Well, now he has. "Maybe I'll try again later," a gutted Federer told the crowd Sunday as he backed away from the microphone at center court, clutching the silver plate awarded to the tournament runner-up, temporarily unable to finish his remarks. The tearful comment is a promise. This proud and gracious player hasn't been pushed off the high wire by any means, but this match showed more than any other that he's going to have his hands full keeping his balance.
Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.