Wawrinka knows how to play Nadal on clay...

[Mike Sams]

...unfortunately for him he doesn't have anywhere near the mental strength to make a go of it. I just watched the Nadal/Wawrinka Monte Carlo match. Wawrinka hits heavy rather looping balls deep to Nadal's backhand. Nadal's often unable to put anything on the ball and usually can only loop it back while uncomfortably returning it, sometimes needing to even jump to hit the ball with the 2 hander. Wawrinka doesn't have the killer instinct to come forward and put away weak short balls from Nadal. It's one of the reasons Wawrinka forever will be a 7-5, 6-4 kinda guy who will always have his chances but never be able to get over that hurdle.

What's upsetting for him is how he's up 40-15 at 5-5 on serve and ends up losing the next 4 points to get broken after missing very routine shots which he normally would not miss.
The Wawrinka backhand is powerful. He can drive it deep. Nadal has trouble trying to bully that backhand. Wawrinka's forehand is sturdy also. But obviously when it comes to the big 3 and the rest of the tour, there's a little more that comes into play including playing the big points. Wawrinka wasn't born with this talent, at least against the top players.

Too bad because he has the weapons. If he had any belief or killer instinct he'd be a threat to the top players. But forever...just another 7-5, 6-4 kinda guy...

[rdis10093]

fed and stan should have a baby

[PhrygianDominant]

Stan is the man.

[rdis10093]

for real though, stan's bh is better than fed, but federer has better shot selection.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by rdis10093

for real though, stan's bh is better than fed, but federer has better shot selection.

Wawrinka has the physical strength to "trap" Nadal on the backhand side or put him into a defensive position but Wawrinka lacks the ability to finish points or come forward and put balls away. Still staying on the baseline despite getting weak replies

[veroniquem]

Well, at least he knows how to beat Fed on clay...

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

Well, at least he knows how to beat Fed on clay...

It shows Wawrinka has the game to do well. Just not the desire.

[TTMR]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

It shows Wawrinka has the game to do well. Just not the desire.

I am not a fan of people assuming they know what is in a player's mind or heart. That is where all manner of bad sports cliches derive from.

Wawrinka has mediocre movement and a mediocre game outside of his groundstrokes compared to players higher ranked than him. It's as simple as that.

[Geology_Rocks!]

So, is Wawrinka a bad match up for Nadal just like Fed?

[Bud]

If that was true how is it he's never beaten Nadal on clay in 3 attempts? In fact, he's never taken a set off of Nadal on clay.

[Wilander Fan]

It just looks that way. Nadal is extremely defensive and play very high percentage shots until they start blowing him away. Once an opponent starts proving they can hit through his defense nadal starts to play aggressively but it's clear he doesn't like to do this.

[FlashFlare11]

Wawrinka's a natural clay-court player. He's very good on the surface and it seems that Nadal's forehand doesn't give him as much trouble as it does Federer. Then again, Wawrinka's backhand is a bit better than Federer's and it is Wawrinka's strongest shot.

[BevelDevil]

Here's a nice point from that match. Amazing to see Stan dictating with the bh, and taking one or two on the rise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgrBlz0RtKU#t=1h34m43s

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

...unfortunately for him he doesn't have anywhere near the mental strength to make a go of it. I just watched the Nadal/Wawrinka Monte Carlo match. Wawrinka hits heavy rather looping balls deep to Nadal's backhand. Nadal's often unable to put anything on the ball and usually can only loop it back while uncomfortably returning it, sometimes needing to even jump to hit the ball with the 2 hander. Wawrinka doesn't have the killer instinct to come forward and put away weak short balls from Nadal. It's one of the reasons Wawrinka forever will be a 7-5, 6-4 kinda guy who will always have his chances but never be able to get over that hurdle.

What's upsetting for him is how he's up 40-15 at 5-5 on serve and ends up losing the next 4 points to get broken after missing very routine shots which he normally would not miss.
The Wawrinka backhand is powerful. He can drive it deep. Nadal has trouble trying to bully that backhand. Wawrinka's forehand is sturdy also. But obviously when it comes to the big 3 and the rest of the tour, there's a little more that comes into play including playing the big points. Wawrinka wasn't born with this talent, at least against the top players.

Too bad because he has the weapons. If he had any belief or killer instinct he'd be a threat to the top players. But forever...just another 7-5, 6-4 kinda guy...

Wow. I thought according to our local expert, ***, Nadal has come back with an unbeatable backhand this year. Nadal is now supposed to be perfect.

[Big_Dangerous]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

It shows Wawrinka has the game to do well. Just not the desire.

Kind of like Gulbis. Tremendous talent, but a total underachiever.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by Big_Dangerous

Kind of like Gulbis. Tremendous talent, but a total underachiever.

Gulbis gave Nadal one of his most difficult matches in Rome 2010. There were some chances for Gulbis but as always, the warrior comes through on the big points in 3 rugged sets. Pretty good performance from Gulbis, especially for a guy who only looks at tennis as a hobby who does it because he's bored and could care less if he wins a tournament as he himself said. Nadal was elated with the win, jumping up and down.
Gulbis was like "Whatever..." Barely giving a crap.

[Smasher08]

I watched the match the other week and marvelled as Stan dug himself out of a hole in the first set by playing some very impressive tennis . . . Only to narrowly drop the set and the match.

Nonetheless, I thought he played a great match overall going toe to toe with the greatest clay courter in history. If he keeps his head high, it's possible that he could start ekeing out sets from Rafa the next time they play.

[Gugafan]

Well a QF at Monte Carlo is not a shabby performance. Stan is actually a natural clay court player, that has the game to test the top guys on clay. Lets see if he can take this form into the FO.