Friday, April 20, 2007

Federer and Nadal Serve up a Lesson in Conflict Resolution

How do you go about resolving your differences when one person or party prefers one thing and the other prefers another?

The solution for has come from an unlikely quarter—the two champion male tennis players in the world.

Four-time Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer, is the world’s best player on grass courts while Rafael Nadal has won the last two French Open titles and has a 64 winning streak on clay. Which player is the best? It depends on what type of court they are playing.

A special exhibition match has been arranged for these two to settle their differences and decide who is the greatest. The game will be played on 2 May in Mallorca, Spain, where Nadal was born.

For the first time in history the court will be half grass and half clay. The characteristics of the match will be normal. That is, it will be played to the best of three sets with the usual changes of side, in uneven games.

Dubbed “the battle of the surfaces”, this initiative began with an idea by Pablo Del Campo, president of Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi.

The idea has already met with widespread support as this fun game is a sell out.

This proposal has far-reaching implications for any people who are wanting to resolve their surface differences.

Geoff Pound

Image: Nadal and Federer.