Rafael Nadal finished his Wimbledon semi-final loss against Roger Federer with 10 aces and more winners than unforced errors (32 to 25). But despite the impressive stats, the Spaniard felt his performance on Friday didn’t match the lofty standards he set in previous rounds.

“Honestly, I didn’t have the great feelings that I had the other days,” said Nadal. “When I was hitting the ball with the forehand, especially with the backhand, I was not able to open up the court like the other days.

“You need to make him miss because you put him out of position. I probably didn’t hit the ball clean enough to make that happen this afternoon. Then you are in a situation where he plays in his comfort zone and it’s difficult from there – for me and for everybody, I think.”

The Spaniard tipped his hat to Federer for an outstanding display of tennis that produced 51 winners to only 27 unforced errors. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 24-16 and beat the Swiss last month en route to his 12th Roland Garros title (d. Thiem), but Federer has won six of their past seven matches. On grass, a surface where Federer has won three of their four matches, the eight-time champion’s strengths are amplified even further.

“He is always able to do the most difficult things easily,” said Nadal. “He’s able to move inside the court quicker than anyone. He puts pressure on the opponent all the time because he has the ability to take the ball earlier than anybody else. That’s probably the most difficult thing to make happen and he is able to do it so well.”

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Despite the loss, Nadal has plenty to build on for the American hard-court season. The World No. 2 hit more winners than errors in all of his matches this fortnight and recorded a meaningful second-round win over Nick Kyrgios, who defeated him earlier this year in Acapulco. The Spaniard also become the first player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, held in London at The O2 from 10-17 November.

Federer will bump Nadal to No. 3 in the ATP Rankings if he takes the title on Sunday, but Nadal has plenty of room to make another push upwards. Injuries limited the Spaniard to just two tournaments in the last four months of the 2018 season, so he’s only defending 1,720 ATP Rankings points for the rest of this year, compared to 2,400 for Federer and 5,690 for Djokovic.

Although Nadal was disappointed to not win his third Wimbledon title, he will leave The Championships focused on the positives of his two weeks here.

“It’s not the day to find any excuse,” said Nadal. “My energy was there. I have been playing with the right energy and with the right intensity the whole tournament. Today, too. He played a great match and well done to him.”

The story of Roberto Bautista Agut’s bachelor party delay won him plenty of new fans this fortnight, but the Spaniard can finally relax with the boys after his Wimbledon came to a close on Friday.

Bautista Agut was scheduled to be in Ibiza this week with six friends, but his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final hampered the festivities. Most bachelor parties don’t span two countries, but his friends relocated to London after the No. 23 seed beat Guido Pella on Wednesday for his first Grand Slam semi-final.

After his competitive four-set loss to Novak Djokovic, Bautista Agut intends to at least get some use out of his Ibiza reservations.

“We had everything reserved from Wednesday or Thursday until Sunday. They all knew before there was a small chance for me to be here, playing in the quarter-finals,” said Bautista Agut. “I think they really had a good plan. They spent Wednesday in Ibiza. They came to watch a good match, the semi-final of Wimbledon. They came yesterday as a surprise. It was really nice to have them in the crowd. They support me so much.

“Maybe tomorrow we come back [to Ibiza]. I think I deserve some vacation. We will have some time off after that.”

Bautista Agut lamented that the scoreline in the last two sets against Djokovic didn’t reflect his performance. The Spaniard hit 18 winners to 14 errors and won 49 points overall (compared to 63 for Djokovic), but the quality was so high from the Serbian that Bautista Agut still only managed to win five games.

“I think I deserved a little bit more in the third set,” said Bautista Agut. “The third set for me was the best set of the match. We both played very good tennis.”

Despite the loss, Bautista Agut is on track to make 2019 his best season yet. The 31-year-old opened the year with a title in Doha (d. Berdych) and his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open. He’s projected to re-enter the Top 15 of the ATP Rankings on Monday and will be just shy of his career-high standing of No. 13. The Spaniard will also jump to No. 7 in the ATP Race To London and be in contention to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, held in London at The O2 from 10-17 November.

Read More: Bautista Agut’s Persistence Pays Off At SW19

But Bautista Agut doesn’t intends for this fortnight to be his pinnacle moment. He hopes to build on the experience and put himself in position for more memorable moments in the world’s biggest events.

“Every experience I had in my tennis career made me a better player, made me do things better the next time,” said Bautista Agut. “A lot of experiences today in the match. A lot of new situations. A lot of new emotions. I’m happy for the way I played, happy with the result I had here in Wimbledon.”

Eight-time former champion Roger Federer is level with his long-time rival Rafael Nadal, the two-time former winner, 7-6(3), 1-6 on Friday in their semi-final on Centre Court at The Championships, Wimbledon.

It is the pair’s 40th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting and their first on a grass-court encounter since their legendary 2008 Wimbledon final that Nadal won 9-7 in the fifth set.

Federer, who is bidding to reach his 12th Wimbledon final, could not convert one break point at 4-3 in the first set, but played at his attacking best in the tie-break, before Nadal fought back after a tense start to the second set. Nadal is attempting to capture his second Roland Garros/Wimbledon title double.

The winner will play World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the four-time titlist, who knocked out No. 23 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets earlier on Friday. Djokovic leads Federer 25-22 and Nadal 28-26 in their career series.

Nadal became the first player to qualify for the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November, after his quarter-final win over Sam Querrey at The Championships on Wednesday.

Nadal stood deep behind the baseline on return of serve and Federer soon picked up on the ploy, exposing the angles of the court and serve and volleying with great frequency. The match, played in breezy conditions at the All England Club, went with serve to the tie-break, but Federer did have a break point on Nadal’s serve at 3-4, 30/40, when the Spaniard’s footwork got him out of trouble. Nadal got himself in trouble at 5-6, 40/0, losing three straight points, but in the tie-break raised his game to lead 3/2. From that point, Federer went on the attack, stepping into the court and rushing the net to win five of the next six points to clinch the 52-minute opener. Federer completed the set with a forehand, his 16th winner.

Having won 27 of his 34 service points in the first set, Federer came under pressure in his opening service game of the second set, but continued to back himself at the net. The Swiss saved Nadal’s first break point with a smash and a backhand volley on the second opportunity. One game later, it was Nadal’s turn to feel the heat as he recovered from 15/40, but Federer was still able to step inside the baseline. While Nadal’s return positioning, deep behind the baseline, was questioned, he soon won 10 points in a row, capitalising on a lapse in concentration from Federer, who lost his serve to love after a backhand error.

Nadal carried the momentum, with Federer’s level dropping slightly in a 10-minute period. Federer mis-timed a forehand on approach to the net to give Nadal a 5-1 lead and the Spaniard then calmly closed out the second set with a hold to love — ending with an unreturned serve. Nadal won 30 of 45 points in the net, with 17 of 23 service points won.

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Second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah seek to etch their place in tennis history on Saturday when they face No. 11 seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the men’s doubles final. The Colombians beat Mahut/Roger-Vasselin in their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting six years ago in Nice.

Cabal/Farah look to become the first Colombians to win a men’s doubles Grand Slam title and any title at The All England Club. The pair finished runner-up at the 2018 Australian Open (l. Marach/Pavic), while Cabal (w/Schwank) was also a finalist at 2011 Roland Garros (l. Mirnyi/Nestor).

They hadn’t reached the quarter-finals before at The Championships, but broke that barrier and then outlasted fifth seeds Jean Julien-Rojer and Horia Tecau, the 2015 champions, in an 11-9 deciding set to reach the last four. Cabal/Farah followed that up with a semi-final win over third seeds and 2018 finalists Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus.

The Colombian duo have been outstanding on all surfaces in 2019. They took the title two weeks ago at the Nature Valley International (d. Gonzalez/Zeballos), prevailed on clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (d. Klaasen/Venus) and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Murray/Soares), and finished runner-up on hard at the Sydney International (l. Murray/Soares).

Mahut/Roger-Vasselin first teamed up in 2007 and have played together sporadically over the years, winning six ATP Tour doubles titles together. They were on opposite sides of the net in the 2016 Wimbledon doubles final, with Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeating Roger-Vasselin and Julien Benneteau.

The No. 11 seeds look to become the third all-French pair to in the Open Era to take the doubles title at The Championships. They had a challenging draw that included a third-round win over seventh seeds and three-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, followed by a victory over top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. Mahut/Roger-Vasselin booked their place in the final over Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek.

Mahut won the Australian Open this year (w/Herbert) to complete their career Grand Slam. Roger-Vasselin teamed up with Dodig to prevail this season in Montpellier (d. Bonzi/Hoang) and Lyon (d. Skupski/Skupski).

The 2019 Wimbledon fortnight is inching toward its conclusion. The All England Club’s once green courts are showing signs of wear, and a field of 128 has been trimmed down to four contenders. Practice sessions, relegated to another end of the grounds to this point, are held on the courts adjacent to Centre Court, the site where the remaining singles matches will be contested.

One day before he faces Roger Federer on the hallowed ground of Centre Court, Rafael Nadal works out on Court 7 under a sweltering July sun. It’s been 11 years since a 22-year-old Nadal and Federer, then 26, clashed in an epic final for the Wimbledon crown. This year, they’ll meet for a place in the final of The Championship.  

Nadal seems to be enjoying himself throughout the rigorous one hour, 40-minute practice session. Following Nadal’s final preparations, his coach, Francisco Roig, steps off the court to discuss his charge’s semi-final match against Federer and the possibility of playing for the title at Wimbledon.

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Nadal feels great following his quarter-final win 
Rafa managed to get off to an impressive start once again, imposing his will on Sam [Querrey] and building steam throughout the match. Sam was only able to earn points with his big serve. Things got a little shaky in that first set, when Rafa’s forehand seemed to let him down for a moment. He seemed on the verge of breaking Sam’s serve again and taking the set, but the break didn’t materialise the second time around. These things happen on grass. When that does occur, it’s dangerous because one misstep and the momentum can shift quickly.

The exact situation we were prepared to avoid unfolded: Sam raised his game and just like that, he was back in the match. Luckily, Rafa knows how to manage those situations and he regained control.

“I’m not necessarily a better player; I’ve gained some things, but I’ve also lost some things. ” – Nadal
It’s a statement I’ve been hearing a lot recently and I stand by Rafa’s sentiments. I’ve said it before: Rafa is doing things now he couldn’t do before, but he’s also lost a few things. On a physical level, obviously he’s not the same person at 33 years of age that he was at 22. When you’re younger, you tend to play more carefree and without hesitation. When you are older, you’re more responsible on the court and play with less impulse. You’re more wary because you’ve been through critical moments and you know the possible outcomes… Is Rafa better today than he was in 2008? I don’t know, I can’t say who would win if they met. But today he’s capable of doing a lot more on the court.

A few months ago, it was hard to imagine Nadal would be battling for a place in the Wimbledon final
In Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, we were at a low point. Rafa was coming off an injury at Indian Wells and was sidelined for a while. He had lost the spark that sets him apart from the rest. We were a little demoralised. After he lost to [Dominic] Thiem [at Barcelona], Rafa came to the locker room and told us not to worry. He explained how he felt he had performed well; the difference between winning and losing was a couple of games and had he been able to take advantage of a few opportunities, the outcome would have been different. He assured us he hadn’t lost the spark. He played better in Madrid and even though he didn’t win, he understood some things were out of his control.

We saw the real Rafa in Rome, when he defeated [Novak] Djokovic in the final. That was a pivotal point and paved the way for success at Roland Garros. Since then, he’s been on a roll. He’s already exceeded expectations for the year. Winning a Grand Slam mean a lot to Rafa. No year goes down as a failure when Rafa wins at a major. It gives him so much peace of mind. When he arrived at Wimbledon this year, after having played well the last two years, he was already feeling confident. That confidence built after getting through a tough first week.

What’s at stake for Nadal and Federer
The two go into this match knowing what they’ve accomplished so far is enormous. But everything to this point won’t matter when they step on to the court. Nerves will be a factor; even if they’ve been through this so many times, there’s so much on the line. Experience, though, will be even more key. They’re both playing so well; whoever can keep their composure during tense moments will have the advantage.

What will determine the outcome of the match
The serve is a crucial factor on grass. Everything needs to be working at the highest level, of course, but it’s the serve that’s most critical. All the other factors come next. Taking advantage of opportunities is also very important. Getting out ahead and not falling behind on your serve is also imperative. To put it simply: Rafa can’t afford any lapses in concentration and he can’t risk falling behind at any stage of the match. When Federer gets ahead, he’s tough to catch. Rafa has to dictate the match on his terms. With all his weapons finely tuned, he should be able to control the points and the flow of the match.

Simply attacking the backhand isn’t a sound strategy on grass. Roger’s backhand is fluid; he’s in a groove and shows no signs of vulnerability on that side. At Roland Garros, we found his forehand to be the stronger of his two groundstrokes, with the wind making it difficult for him to control his backhand. We must keep Roger constantly under pressure and not allow him to drive forward and approach the net. There are no secrets; they know each other very well. It’s a very even match.

Each player has an equal shot at winning
Federer is the stronger player on grass, but Rafa has also proven his worth. He managed his way past pitfalls against [Nick] Kyrgios and Sam [Querrey], two very dangerous opponents on this surface. Rafa paid his dues in those encounters. I give each a 50-50 shot at winning.

Tracking Federer
I’ve kept a close eye on Roger throughout the tournament, knowing this day might come. We focused Rafa’s entire practice [today] on how to execute our plans and how to continue doing what has gotten him here. I always watch videos and try to glean as much information as possible to figure out the best approach going into a match. Sometimes it’s the little things you pick up that make a big difference when the match plays out. Even if they’re very familiar with each other’s games, there are always things you can learn that maybe you didn’t notice the last time you watched video or you didn’t pick up on the last time you watched them play. Convincing Rafa he’s entering the match with as much knowledge as possible goes a long way.

Talking strategy before matches of this magnitude
We speak and, of course, we debate. Rafa shares his opinion and the team provides feedback. We didn’t make many adjustments this time around, because everything is working for Rafa so far. He’s bullied his opponents, made them move, used all corners of the court, and that will be a big plus against Roger. We do our best to gauge where Rafa is at the moment and take factors, even as basic as Rafa being left-handed, into account…. Communicating openly with Rafa is important, and what we want is to have a discussion now, as this will be the last thing we leave him with before he steps into battle.