To borrow a line from Caught on the Fly, weren't you the guy that people used to think was better than Roger Federer?

Hey, Rafael Nadal is a great player with an incredibly bright future, and I love watching him play. Who wouldn't? The young Spaniard's vivacity and flair is the perfect foil to Federer's stoicism and meticulousness. Hell, I'm even beginning to come around on the manpris (OK, maybe not).

But Roger Federer is Roger Federer, and there's a reason he's won eight grand slams before the age of 25: The man has no weaknesses in his game.

He has no weaknesses, but he does have particular strengths - a big, flat serve and a precise forehand - that can be neutralized by clay. On most surfaces, those shots are the knives Federer uses to dissect his opponents. But the clay holds those shots up and slows them down - it dulls Federer's blades.

Nadal, on the other hand, has a game perfectly suited to clay. He, like Federer, is powerful, but in a different way. Whereas Federer's power translates into pace, Nadal's power goes into spin. On clay, that leads to groundstrokes that bounce high and deep, and groundstrokes keep opponents on their heels, allowing Nadal to dictate points.

But Nadal's game isn't the only reason he can consistently beat Federer on clay. Nadal is one of the few players - perhaps the only player - who doesn't play like he's scared of Federer. Most players, even when they're playing great tennis - Roddick in the 2004 Wimbledon final, Agassi in the U.S. Open - play Federer as if it will take a superhuman effort to beat him. These players might play out of their minds for a set or two, but they can keep it up only for so long, and Federer ultimately prevails. Nadal, on the other hand, plays Federer as if he's an equal. Nadal plays his game and lets Federer try to beat him. And that approach works for Nadal - on clay.

On Sunday, we saw what adjustments will be necessary for Nadal to beat Federer on grass. Nadal's head was in the right place. He came back from an embarrassing 0-6 first set to force a second-set tiebreaker and win a tiebreaker in the third. During those middle sets, Nadal had Federer on his heels, and he let Federer make unforced errors, just as he did in this year's French Open final. But in the decisive first and fourth sets, we saw why Nadal is currently inferior to Federer on any surface other than clay: Nadal has trouble handling low, skidding shots, and Nadal's serve is not a weapon.

Is there hope for Nadal to overcome those relative weaknesses on grass? Absolutely. Nadal has come a long way since his second-round exit from Wimbledon last year, and his handling of low balls seemed to improve even as today's match progressed. But his timing was still just a little off on his groundstrokes - he hit several with an open face - and without a nice, high bounce, he was unable to line up the forehand blasts at extreme angles that he hits on clay. As for Nadal's service game, the Spaniard landed 74 percent of his first serves - which is encouraging - but he won only 61 percent of his service points - which won't get it done against Federer. If Nadal can flatten his serve a bit and pound a few more aces, he will be less labored in his service game.

And I have no doubt that Nadal will make the improvements necessary to one day win at Wimbledon. As opposed to, say, Andy Roddick, who seems to want to enjoy the lifestyle his celebrity affords him (and that's not a criticism, I'd do the same), Nadal eats, sleeps and breathes tennis. I mean, here's a guy who could have two Penelope Cruzes on each arm, but instead, he lives at home and hangs out with a seemingly endless gaggle of uncles.

Expect one of those uncles, Toni - who is also Nadal's coach - to take the lessons learned from today's match and apply them in time for the U.S. Open, where the hardcourt surface falls somewhere between grass and clay.

Rafael might be the heir apparent, but Roger is still the king.