Grass? Clay? Let's split the diff...

From the Lakeland (FL) Register...

Nadal Nips Federer On Half-Clay, Half-Grass

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Balearic Islands
The King of Clay ruled in this oddest of matches between the two best players in tennis. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10), in an exhibition Wednesday on a half-grass, half-clay court when the top-ranked Swiss failed to reach a forehand that took a funny bounce across the green side. "We're used to playing long, hard games with a lot of tension involved," Federer said. "So it's fun to play on this half-grass, half-clay surface."

Nadal came into the match with a record 72 straight wins on clay. Federer hasn't lost on grass in four years - a 48-match run that includes four straight Wimbledon titles.

"It was a long match, with many changes of pace and with little time to adapt," Nadal said. "My feet are suffering as a price of having to adapt to the grass."

Federer was leading 4-1 in the tiebreaker before Nadal rallied. After the Spaniard double-faulted while ahead 6-5, the players traded match points. Nadal then hit three of the final four winners from the clay side before a sellout crowd of about 7,000.

After the players split the first two sets, the jokes dissipated and both players went for the win. Nadal displayed his trademark fist-pump for the first time after Federer's forehand landed long on the clay for a 4-3 lead. Both players held serve to force the tiebreaker, with Nadal dominating the baseline and Federer the net.