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In the 24 hours or so since Roger Federer's loss, we've all been trying to find a formula that explains the defeat. How about:
Wimbledon hangover ("disaster" loss to Nadal)
+ pressure to put up wins (the "monster")
+ forehand/serve trouble (symptomatic of increased inconsistency?)
+ hot opponent (Gilles Simon won Indianapolis last week)
+ hardcourt rust (just two weeks and four days of practice after the grass)
 It's natural to want Rafael Nadal's take. He knows Federer well, and he's the one who's gone through much of the ride with him -- they played each other in the final of Monte Carlo, lost early in Rome, and then played the finals of Hamburg, the French and Wimbledon together. Each played and won a grass warmup between the French Open and Wimbledon
Federer's loss also affects Nadal, putting him within touching distance of the No. 1 spot he's been looking up at for 154 straight weeks.
Of course, getting Nadal's take isn't easy -- in fact, it feels like it's not easy to get Nadal to answer any question these days, easy or difficult. What adjustments do you make to hardcourts, Rafa? Oh, just the same as clay. What's your goal now you've finally won Wimbledon? I'm just thinking about this week. What did you make of the wind today, Rafa? It's often windy. How about the rain? Nothing's as bad as Wimbledon last year.
It would be exasperating if he wasn't so good-hearted about it all. But in the spirit of player comradeship ('let me tell you what we go through'), he did give up his read of the loss:
Punishing schedule
+ Wimbledon
+ hot opponent
+ missed chances
"I think you really don't know how tough it is to play Miami, Davis Cup, Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona, Hamburg, Roland Garros, Halle or Queen's, and next week after Wimbledon," said Nadal, reciting his own schedule since March. "A lot of matches and a lot of tournaments without a stop, so after Wimbledon, a tough match in the final, the body is going down. For me, too."
Not only had Federer played six previous matches and then their epic final, he had also had to absorb a loss -- something Nadal didn't have to deal with. "He lost important match I think for him, and maybe he has to be a little bit worse than me. So you don't know how tough it is to be 100% in one week, one week and a half, because you have to be here [in Toronto]."
"And Federer yesterday played against Simon," Nadal continued. "Simon came here winning the last tournament... it's a very tough match for the first match after a long time not playing on hard and with only some days of practice, no?"
Nadal saw a chunk of the match waiting around for his (midnight) doubles to start yesterday. "Well, in my opinion he had a lot of chances and he had chances to win in two sets. In the third he was a break up... two times, I think. He was a little bit unlucky with some points, and in the end Simon play very well, no?"
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