Rafael Nadal came to fore with his backhand against Roger Federer in Wimbledon final

By Sandy Macaskill "Nadal's two-handed backhand was just so much stronger than Federer's one-handed," Nick Bollettieri, the former coach to Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters, said yesterday in his analysis of Sunday's final - and he is spot on. Roger Federer was responsible for two of the most glorious backhands of the match, both executed under pressure at championship point down. Yet over the duration of the final, Rafael Nadal's backhand was the superior, in terms of consistency and sustained aggression. Though serenely aesthetic, Federer's backhand was too often without purpose. Nadal, by contrast, was always looking to attack. It is no coincidence that he placed 65 per cent of his shots to Federer's backhand, while the Swiss chose to go to his opponent's with little over half of his shots. Federer knew that the... [read full story]