update: By Sofie

Sorry CC to barge in on you like this .. but I had to add this article here it's from Bleacher Report by Tim Ruffin regarding Federer's Article



A little smacktalk??? This will fire up all our Rafaholics!! Roger's subtle swipe at Rafa's clay court prowess...

Roger Federer, in an interview with the Spanish newpaper El Pais (translated by a commenter on gototennisblog.com):

On clay you don't need a volley or a serve. You just need legs, an incredible forehand and backhand, and to run after every ball. I'm not trying to take anything from Rafa: He has been successful in other surfaces as well. But on clay you can get away, you can be competitive even with a very incomplete game. I'm not saying it's so simple, but it's too easy.

Ahh, the old "I'm not trying to, but ..." trick. What it essentially means is "Please don't think I'm a jerk simply because I'm telling you what I perceive to be the truth." Federer doesn't say Nadal isn't great, just that he thinks winning on grass and hard courts is more impressive than winning at Roland Garros.

The "clay courters are junkers" stereotype is like the "grass courters are big servers" one. These beliefs exist for a reason but are as messy as all mass generalizations. Federer may be right, he may be wrong, but he's almost definitely a little bitter about Nadal's clay-court success. If Federer had three French Open titles instead of one, do you think he'd be taking shots at clay?

It's only fair to say that Federer was effusive in his praise of Nadal throughout the interview. He says his problems aren't with the surface at Roland Garros but with Rafa, who is "unbelievable."

SOURCE