MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Agreed. it will be on Rafa's racket.
[1] Nadal vs. [21] Dolgopolov - R4 Miami 2011
- Thread starter Love Game
- Start date
Agreed. it will be on Rafa's racket.
Dolgo is pretty fun to watch though. A very unusual player, brings something fresh to the table. Great spirit too.
Don't tell me you think Djokovic will. FO is Nadal's place. He owns it.
QueenSeles
Banned
In the first two sets of IW, we saw Nadal's best. I don't think we saw Djoker's best at all. I say Djoker takes it.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Couldn't watch this match. Just came off work.
I heard Nadal was serving VERY SLOW, like he used to do in 2009? Is that true?
I heard Nadal was serving VERY SLOW, like he used to do in 2009? Is that true?
QueenSeles
Banned
No I was just asking the ********* whom he thought would win.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
LOL. I'm not even thinking of the French Open at this stage. It's far too early.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
I don't think so. I say Nadal takes it. Just a feeling.
ruerooo
Legend
I think he's worked to improve his placement, somehow. It just seems that much more deadly.
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
a lesson, unfortunately
Legend of Borg
G.O.A.T.
LOL
What happened?
Massive lols!!!!!!!
What happened?
Massive lols!!!!!!!
QueenSeles
Banned
Don't give me that. If someone asked you to place a bet for free today, you would choose Nadal. Don't even deny it.
69%, with that speed and location? It was an awesome display of serving in the 1st set.
My impression was that his serving went down a bit in the 2nd.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
WOW, nadal torched dolgo with the serve in the 1st set and torched him off the ground in the 2nd. This is the best serve, footwork, speed combo from nadal since the beginning of the year.
Thanks for the summary. So that means Nadal didn't play bad. Good to hear!!
QueenSeles
Banned
Djoker let Nadal push him around in the first set. Won't happen again. Djoker learned how to beat Fed after playing him so many times. Same will happen with Nadal.
ruerooo
Legend
I agree with you generally, but ... I'm cutting him some slack today because he did have to play twice. Plus that whole "waiting for the rain to stop" thing in the middle of your match can be mentally fatiguing.
Still and all, I think all the young guns - Sasha, Milos, et al - are all learning that when you step up a level, you really have to step up a level.
Gives me that much more respect for what champions like Roger and Rafa do year in and year out, actually.
You have to get a hi def version and watch the serving in the 1st set and watch his footwork and speed in both sets.
3 straight matches of serving at a high level now.
ruerooo
Legend
Rafa's focused. He wasn't on the "offering mercy" train today.
QueenSeles
Banned
Wow Nadal served so uncharacteristically well today . What IF he didn't serve so well, Dolgo might have taken it to 3!
. What IF he didn't serve so well, Dolgo might have taken it to 3!
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Well, if I had to place a bet today, what do I have to go on? Nadal is the world number 1, who has won 5 out of the last 6 French Open tournaments. All the smart money is with Nadal if I had to make a bet right now, but by no means is anything guaranteed, especially not this early in the season.
69%, with that speed and location? It was an awesome display of serving in the 1st set.
Yeah, Nadal's first serve percentage was in the 70s in the first set.
QueenSeles
Banned
Yeah and what do I have to go now? Djoker undefeated for the season and trounced Nadal last time. By no means is anything guaranteed, but the smart money is on Djoker.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
What was Federer's record at this stage in 2005 and 2006? 1 loss, wasn't it?
Last edited:
QueenSeles
Banned
I meant the smart money is on Djoker for Miami, not the FO.
Outbeyond
Legend
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
You have to get a hi def version and watch the serving in the 1st set and watch his footwork and speed in both sets.
3 straight matches of serving at a high level now.
Good to hear isn't it?
Mustard
Bionic Poster
I agree with you that Djokovic is favourite for Miami. Hardcourt is his best surface, after all, and he is undefeated this year.
QueenSeles
Banned
Sure for FO, obvious favourite is Nadal.
Good to hear isn't it?
I remember discussing with nadalagassi a couple (?) of years ago whether nadal's serve would ever be like agassi's after agassi had improved his considerably. Well nadal's serve is certainly at that level or higher now imo.
Last edited:
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Good to hear isn't it?
I bet Uncle Toni has been making him practice serving after that Indian Wells final collapse when his first serve percentage dropped way down into the 20s.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Of course, but it doesn't mean he'll definitely win it. Just look at 2009.
QueenSeles
Banned
There are no definite's in life.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Actually Nadal is one of the few players who can serve their hardest serves out wide. He used to hit flat angled serves out wide in the deuce court, regularly at 130-135 mph in USOpen.
My feeling is that he's serving slower for sure, at least for the first 2 matches that I saw.
In Miami 1st 2 matches, Nadal's top serves were in the 120-125 mph range and his avg b/w 110-115 mph. I didn't see a single serve close to the 130 mph mark.
Compare this to IW where he served a bunch of 130 mph+ against Djokovic and was serving at avg 120 mph or so , at least in then first set. Of course after that the wheels came off. (in the USO he maintained these kind of serve stats on avg, and had a bunch of 134 and 135 mphs).
What is even more puzzling is that the avg serve speed in Miami should be higher than it is in IW, as the surface at the former is faster.
I am guessing Nadal is conscientiously taking mphs of his serve so that he can get his serve % and accuracy back.
Last edited:
Semi-Pro
Hall of Fame
I agree with all of this.
In IW, I believe he was trying to go for too much pace on the serve in the finals in fear of Djokovic's wicked return skills and in consequence he missed to many first serves which ultimately probably cost him the match.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
It may, but I am not so certain about it for Miami. It could go either way.
there is no question that he is going for slower serves than in IW and that it is helping him with his serve %. He was going for more 130 serves at IW and he is not doing that here I agree with that.
Nadal can serve big out wide on the duece side, but he never really does that on the ad side imo, not even at the past USO. On the ad side he is more or less a 105 mph guy with great location. He was doing that really well today. Check his 1st serve mph at the USO and you will notice his avg. mph out wide on the ad side was considerably lower than his avg mph out wide on the duece side.
it had nothing to do with djokovic, he was going for big serves the entire tournament and missing. He had several matches near 50% even before the final, which is very unusual for him, and that's why it was a decent call that he was going to serve badly in the final; that's what happened.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Sure dude. Obviously it's harder for a lefty to serve hard out wide on ad court compared to the deuce court. One curls outward and the other inward.
On the ad-side Nadal can use the lefty spin and get a vicious angle so that his serve becomes virtually unplayable if it hits the correct spot on the short-right corner of the service line.
On a deuce-side he goes for much less spin; a flatter serve - which is easier to do coz he's a lefty.
Now coming to Nadal's serve, overall, I agree that it's slower in Miami but, perhaps, more effective than it was in IW. He now needs to work on increasing the pace without sacrificing the accuracy. Good returns like Djokovic, Fed, Murray, Delpo etc won't be bothered by 110-120 mph serves.
All said and done, I think UsO was a career best serving performance by Nadal. He had tremendous pace and accuracy. It was like having his cake and eating it too. I dunno how he managed to serve so well in those 2 weeks.
It remains to be seen whether he can EVER get back to "that" level of serving..
Last edited:
Fiji
Legend
USO serve was a mirage.
It happened vs Nalbandian at Madrid and then at Paris. Two consecutive MS losses to the same guy no less.
Last edited:
ruerooo
Legend
My thought is he won't need to unless he needs to do it. He needed it then because it was his best chance at the Career Grand Slam, so he did it. Rafa is nothing if not pragmatic.
(And/but you remember his shoulder was bothering him enough later in the season that he pulled out of Paris. I'm thinking something about the motion wasn't natural for him.)
dominikk1985
Legend
I think nadal is a stylistic nightmare for dolgo. nadal is a player that doesn't make errors.
dolgos junkball game works best against flat hardhitters.
dolgos junkball game works best against flat hardhitters.
Similar threads
