Are Nadal's balls the heaviest in history?

[Murrayfan31]

Originally Posted by DeShaun

Unless I'm mistaken, many objective individuals have opined that , yes, Rafa hits the average heaviest rally ball ever seen, AND it's coming at you with lefty spin which together make him highly unattackable and this particularly frustrates attacking players. Rafa would destroy prime McEnroe or Edberg but Borg would play Rafa tough in my opinion.

Almugro had no problem open firing on Rafa's shots until he had a chance to win the set.

[wy2sl0]

On average of the top guys, yeah. I would have to say however I have seen Federer hit some ridiculous topspin shots and abuse Nadal the same way Nadal does to him. Although max spin I think Nadal takes the cake.

[Mike Bulgakov]

When I first saw Jim Courier in person, at a first or second round match the first year he won Roland Garros, I didn't think it was possible to hit a bigger topspin forehand. Nadal's forehand is much heavier.

[Towser83]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

Thread title made me

Me too. I'm glad i'm not the only one

[citybert]

Originally Posted by Relinquis

You guys have short (selective?) memory*.

Rafa's balls are too heavy for Novak to handle when on clay. Paradoxically, It's only when his balls are wet, that Novak can get a hold on them, even then barely so.


* Case in point: Rain at 2012 Roland Garros, i.e. less than a year ago.

Yeah what about when novak beat him at Rome and madrid. He took that cc FH and threw it down his throat down the line with one of the best BHs in the game.

I remember nadal complaining during the RG finals that the balls were not bouncing high enough for him.

That being said. No way a healthy nadal loses to djoko 3/5 on clay.

[citybert]

Originally Posted by Mike Bulgakov

When I first saw Jim Courier in person, at a first or second round match the first year he won Roland Garros, I didn't think it was possible to hit a bigger topspin forehand. Nadal's forehand is much heavier.

That was sick saw him also on the outer courts before he won. Then muster had heavier shots followed by gugas crazy hip roatation shots and now nadal.

[big ted]

is the heaviest ball the one with the most spin or the one with the most weight behind it? i think you can hit a fast ball with alot of spin thats not as heavy (eg. roddick serve) and you can hit a ball with not as much spin thats heavier (eg. sampras serve). if its the later, lendl might be in the mix.

[raging]

Originally Posted by Ironwood

Here's a piece on Nadal's forehand rpms I recalled from last year....but he pays a price for it!



http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...yhIXfyexGt5ANA

This is probably the best explanation as to why Rafa causes Fed. & just about everybody problems on the clay. If the courts are dry & hard: his spin should be a factor, it is also why if he can get the trajectory right, he gets the depth, then only the very best can live with him.
Because of the higher RPMs he gets more "jump" off the court.
It will be interesting if he gets the same "jump" in the desert at Indian Wells and if he can get the ball fizzing. This will test his knees & also the spin level.
It is literally going to be tougher on his body to create this torque.

On the "other" part of the question: Who knows?
The heaviest part of his balls is that he doesn't fold under pressure when the match is to be won. The other guy has to take it or break him down so that his body & then his mind, will is dissolved.
You have to be good enough, on that day, to do that.
Almagro couldn't do it, neither could Ferrer.
Who is next?

[always_crosscourt]

This is all speculation.

We only have a sample size of 4 players + Bruguera and Sampras.

Nadal hits the most spin out of that, but so what?

At least measure all of the top 200, focusing mainly on clay-courters. I still wanna see RPM data on Andreev forehand. I reckon that wipes Nadal's forehand.

And take an average of forehand AND backhand topspin, cuz guess what - u ain't gonna get forehands 100% of the time.

Nada's backhand lets him down bigtime on spin production.

[President]

Originally Posted by always_crosscourt

This is all speculation.

We only have a sample size of 4 players + Bruguera and Sampras.

Nadal hits the most spin out of that, but so what?

At least measure all of the top 200, focusing mainly on clay-courters. I still wanna see RPM data on Andreev forehand. I reckon that wipes Nadal's forehand.

And take an average of forehand AND backhand topspin, cuz guess what - u ain't gonna get forehands 100% of the time.

Nada's backhand lets him down bigtime on spin production.

Well usually once Nadal can hit a solid forehand, he can dictate the points and hit ALL forehands for the rest of the rally. So he IS able to hit consistently heavy balls.

I agree with you about Andreev, Verdasco also gets huge topspin on his forehand when he wants to.

[Clay lover]

Nadal's backhand is pretty spinny out of the 2hbh's. You have to see it at court level to tell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX7MUWVwQIc

[sureshs]

Some of his BH top spins angle sharply sideways

[spinovic]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

I don't think it was ball heaviness at all. Ferrer is just afraid of Nadal. If it is so heavy then why doesn't Novak have any problem with it ?

That's it. Ferrer was beat before he even stepped on the court. For some reason, I thought he might offer more resistance, might have a shred of belief since Nadal is returning from injury, had lost to Zeballos and has been pushed in a few other matches. But no, true to form, Ferrer crumbles under pressure against a Big 4.

Ferrer was so afraid of Nadal, he was out of sorts in the prior match, IMO. Fognini pushed him the distance, and Ferrer even got so frustrated over a call that he grabbed the officials sleeve and tried to pull him back to look at the ball mark. Very unFerrer-like.

It is surprising that, of the two, Almagro is the one who stepped up and actually challenged Nadal.

[jwbarrientos]

In History?

Probably Muster, Vilas, Mancini and many others must be also considered.

[ultradr]

With the racquet he is using and polyester string that gives you 20% more spin
than nylon, it is certainly possible.

During the 90's, Sampras was known for hitting heavy balls, when people
believed the ideal mix of pace and spin was the reason behind it.

[sureshs]

Rafa's balls are much heavier than Sampras'

[Backhanded Compliment]

Guga's backhand is another candidate but he had a lot of variety. Depends on if we are talking absolutes or just averages. Averages... likely Nadal. Absolutes who knows... Isner's serve?

[coloskier]

Just waiting for the Photoshops on this post.

[PCXL-Fan]

Here is a youtube link of Serena getting a taste of Nadal's balls. From the look of it Nadal's balls were pretty light. Serena certainly gets a taste here but didn't bite off more than she could chew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnjn2wqdgxY

[heninfan99]

Yes.

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