Nadal beats Federer on a very special court.

[Hidious 0]

So Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (12-10) on a half-clay, half-grass court. So both of them played half the game on their speciality. The funny thing is that they had to change shoes everytime they changed side.

[blueliner27 12]

:lol: ..... It's a Hybrid court

Look awkward I think

[GoHawks 0]

that's crazy... wonder how different the bounce is on each of the surfaces, or if it's the same... I think that'd be really strange to play on.

[LkptTiger 1]

I don't think they should have switched sides...but that's just me.

...and I still say Federer is the best tennis player in the land.

[Hidious 0]

The ball has a totally different behavior on each of those surfaces but i can't exactly tell you which one they are since i've never played on grass. Federer is known as the grass master, he has not lost on grass in four years and Nadal is called the King of clay, he has a record of 72 straight clay-court matches victory. So there MUST be a difference!

And Nadal was the crowd's favorite since the match was in Spain. Federer just let him win, he's a nice guy :P

[LkptTiger 1]

Grass is a bit faster in that the ball skips a little more and doesn't bounce nearly as high as it does on clay. The play is typically a bit more aggressive on grass than it is on clay, where players are usually more inclined to sit at the baseline and wait for an opportunity to present itself.

[GoHawks 0]

Ah, I've only played on asphalt, and clay (once)... the only thing i noticed was that you slide a lot more on clay... Needless to say, I'm a terrible tennis player ;)

[LkptTiger 1]

The ATP did a shitty job of promoting this. They probably could have made a lot more money off of this (not to mention exposure) if they would have spread the word a little better. As it was, I didn't find-out about this exhibition match until after it started.

[TBLfan 25]

I agree completely. I don't watch much tennis but I would have watched this. I didn't even know about it until I saw the highlights on ESPN.

[GoHawks 0]

same, only thing I heard before I saw the pics on here was on BBC 'Nadal vs. Federer in a battle of the courts'

[Hidious 0]

I'm pretty sure this got a lot of exposure in Europe. Two non-american players on two non-american surfaces in spain... Not very interesting for ESPN. ...i guess.

[RadioGaGa 162]

I'm pretty sure this got a lot of exposure in Europe. Two non-american players on two non-american surfaces in spain... Not very interesting for ESPN. ...i guess.

They'd still put it ahead of hockey highlights wouldn't they?

[Ratfinklives 0]

Kind of gimmicky but interesting. I wonder if the match was sloppy at all early on while the adjusted.

[dieselbro 0]

I agree completely. I don't watch much tennis but I would have watched this. I didn't even know about it until I saw the highlights on ESPN.

Same here. I did not even hear about this until this topic was created. I'm sure my grandparents would have liked to watch, their big into tennis, oh well

[Dougie8 0]

I also don't think they should've switched. Get both of the top two players on their best surface. Those pic's almost look photshopped. I know its real, but I think this was a very good idea. Looks like its in a training center with a biking track. Anyone know where this was?

[LkptTiger 1]

Some island off the coast of Spain. I'm assuming that's an indoor bicycle racing track.

[Drewhunz 3]

Match was played in a velodrome in Mallorca, Spain. Court alone cost $1,630,000

[kosydar 0]

I feel Federer's pain, clay always kills me on Mario Tennis.

[Drewhunz 3]

Stay away from the Koopa Troopa and you'll be OK. Safe bets are Princess Peach and Yoshi.

[kosydar 0]

I go with Boo. Some people say its a bitch move, but whatever wins.

[Drewhunz 3]

I miss super nintendo. Wii tennis is fun, but it's not the same.

[Jim A 4]

what a gimmick...so when you are Federer and serving/attacking into your strength (grass) you are defending on your weaker surface..

may this never happen again...

[Drewhunz 3]

He also served/attacked into his weakness as well. Just displayed two masters showing their individual crafts together.

[Cue 0]

first words to come out of my mouth when I saw the picture

"holy shit...must be photoshopped" :D

[Edge 0]

I actually follow tennis a little bit and didn't even hear about this until it was over...they could have promoted this WAY better.

And i agree with them staying on their preferred surface. It kind of takes away the point of the match if they switch sides.