All the credit to his uncle-coach Toni for coaching Nadal since he was a kid and making him a Grand Slam winner and world no. 2.
However I think Nadal is making some adjustments in his game to become a more conventional type of player, reduce his physical effort and have a longer career but in this transition period he is minimizing the abilities that made him the player he is. I think he is lost in the middle of the way and he feels insecure about his game, he´s unconfident and he´s even losing some of his mental strength. I think Nadal needed to change his style a little but not minimizing his strengths. Every player has to maximize his strengths, you cannot pretend Nadal to play a Federer´s style because he will be lost and unconfident about his game. You can make some adjustments, but not a new player.
I´m not sure either if Toni is the right coach to make of Nadal a better hardcourter. I mean, you don´t ask Sampras how to be a better claycourter, you look for someone who has been good in that field. So what do you think?
However I think Nadal is making some adjustments in his game to become a more conventional type of player, reduce his physical effort and have a longer career but in this transition period he is minimizing the abilities that made him the player he is. I think he is lost in the middle of the way and he feels insecure about his game, he´s unconfident and he´s even losing some of his mental strength. I think Nadal needed to change his style a little but not minimizing his strengths. Every player has to maximize his strengths, you cannot pretend Nadal to play a Federer´s style because he will be lost and unconfident about his game. You can make some adjustments, but not a new player.
I´m not sure either if Toni is the right coach to make of Nadal a better hardcourter. I mean, you don´t ask Sampras how to be a better claycourter, you look for someone who has been good in that field. So what do you think?