Verdasco on Clay

persianplayer · Apr 11, 2010

Seeing Verdasco play, I have always wondered why he doesnt do better in clay court events. He seems to have pretty heavy topspin on the forehand side that is a huge weapon. Am i wrong? And i put him as the finalist in the draw challenge so i hope ive got a shot

rovex · Apr 11, 2010

To be quite honest with you, Verdasco had to play against big guys fairly early in the tournaments last year. Djokovic MC, Nadal in Madrid. He should be doing better but he's been consistent in making the QF's of all Masters he's played since last year.

persianplayer · Apr 11, 2010

Im thinking with Djokovic's recent lack of form, I think Verdasco could beat him in the semis

Li Ching Yuen · Apr 11, 2010

He's got people to choke against, don't worry.

clayman2000 · Apr 11, 2010

Ya. In the QF of last years Masters he had Djoker, Nadal and nadal. And even at RG he had to play 2 time semi-finalist Davydenko

Deleted member 21996 · Apr 11, 2010

nandasco will do just fine. hopefully he will not find a journeyman or a reason to implode...

TheTruth · Apr 11, 2010

Verdasco may just have a breakthrough, he seems to expect more out of himself lately, and he does keep trying.

NamRanger · Apr 11, 2010

His lack of movement and lack of patience during a point. Sometimes he'll just fire off a forehand for no reason from the dumbest position ever.

rovex · Apr 11, 2010

NamRanger said:
His lack of movement and lack of patience during a point. Sometimes he'll just fire off a forehand for no reason from the dumbest position ever.

Err, his movement is actually much better than what it was prior to working with Gil Reyes. I'm not denying his movement isn't the best out there, but it's certainly not bad.

SamSung · Apr 11, 2010

I agree, it's his shot selection or, at least, when he decides to pull the trigger during a point. He also might not have the mentality needed to grind

persianplayer · Apr 11, 2010

I agree that his shot selection isn't the best at times. But I like the fact that when he is on the run or has little time to react he pulls the trigger instead of playing a defensive shot, it's more fun to watch and I appreciate it more from a fans perspective but I guess that isn't the right thing to do against the top guys?

P_Agony · Apr 11, 2010

persianplayer said:
Seeing Verdasco play, I have always wondered why he doesnt do better in clay court events. He seems to have pretty heavy topspin on the forehand side that is a huge weapon. Am i wrong? And i put him as the finalist in the draw challenge so i hope ive got a shot

Watch his match against Nadal last year in Madrid and you'll get an idea why he isn't doing well - he's a headcase! He's one of the biggest talents in the tour, capable of great shotmaking, consistency and movement. Even his serve is more than decent, and to top it all, he's a lefty. As far as pure talent goes, Verdasco is top 5 material, maybe even #1. However he's also one of the top 5 mental midgets pon tour, and you can trust him to lose matches when he's ahead.

P_Agony · Apr 11, 2010

TheTruth said:
Verdasco may just have a breakthrough, he seems to expect more out of himself lately, and he does keep trying.

What exactly did he achieve since that famous semi final at the Australian last year? Squat. He had his chances against Fed, Nadal, and more top players, and he blew it. Verdasco needs more determination.

TheTruth · Apr 11, 2010

P_Agony said:
What exactly did he achieve since that famous semi final at the Australian last year? Squat. He had his chances against Fed, Nadal, and more top players, and he blew it. Verdasco needs more determination.

He hasn't achieved much, but he's still trying. He hasn't faded away to the point where people aren't still half way banking on him, or hoping he'll do well. He's on the outskirts of a breakthrough. It can still happen, and I hope it does.

phoenicks · Apr 12, 2010

his games is high risk and have very little margin for error, he needs to be at the very top of his game as well as tougher mental strength to do well. Notice during the 09 AO run, and some other losing match later against top 10, it's all extremely close.

For his type of FH technique, it's either
1)keeping the ball in play,in which he'll either cough up some short ball or letting his opponent dictates play.

2)playing ultra aggressive, in which his error count will go hand in hand with winner.

In essence, there's no middle ground for Verdasco, safe yet aggressive doesn't exist in the game.
This, coupled with some shot selection matter complicates stuff further.

Anaconda · Apr 12, 2010

persianplayer said:
Seeing Verdasco play, I have always wondered why he doesnt do better in clay court events. He seems to have pretty heavy topspin on the forehand side that is a huge weapon. Am i wrong? And i put him as the finalist in the draw challenge so i hope ive got a shot

1) Yes, you are wrong. His FH is inconsistent and misses easy put aways.
2) He finds a way to lose with classic choke jobs; Nalbandian-esque.
3) Rarely makes semifinals on hard courts, clay courts are his weakest surface.

I could continue, but i don't want you to have sleepless nights over the mistake you did in the draw challenge.

MayDay · Apr 12, 2010

P_Agony said:
What exactly did he achieve since that famous semi final at the Australian last year? Squat. He had his chances against Fed, Nadal, and more top players, and he blew it. Verdasco needs more determination.

Didn't he win the SAP Open? Is that nothing? I thought it was pretty entertaining match against Roddick. Big serves, Roddick's hot girlfriend, big hits, Roddick's hot girlfriend, etc.

Oh, umm, yeah, it wasn't on clay....

P_Agony · Apr 12, 2010

TheTruth said:
He hasn't achieved much, but he's still trying. He hasn't faded away to the point where people aren't still half way banking on him, or hoping he'll do well. He's on the outskirts of a breakthrough. It can still happen, and I hope it does.

Don't get me wrong, like I said, I think he's got a big enough talent for a top 5 player, maybe better than that. But I never see fire in his eyes. The only time I did was against Nadal at the AO where he was fighting and not giving up until the very end of that match (where his fitness started to show as well). I don't if he cares enough about being a top player.

persianplayer · Apr 17, 2010

Anaconda said:
1) Yes, you are wrong. His FH is inconsistent and misses easy put aways.
2) He finds a way to lose with classic choke jobs; Nalbandian-esque.
3) Rarely makes semifinals on hard courts, clay courts are his weakest surface.

I could continue, but i don't want you to have sleepless nights over the mistake you did in the draw challenge.

Haha im gonna sleep like a baby tonight! U must feel like a tool now!!

rovex · Apr 17, 2010

Anaconda said:
1) Yes, you are wrong. His FH is inconsistent and misses easy put aways.
2) He finds a way to lose with classic choke jobs; Nalbandian-esque.
3) Rarely makes semifinals on hard courts, clay courts are his weakest surface.

I could continue, but i don't want you to have sleepless nights over the mistake you did in the draw challenge.

Oh, look who it is. Roddick Fanboy Anaconda must feel like a total twat now! :roll:

TheTruth · Apr 17, 2010

rovex said:
Oh, look who it is. Roddick Fanboy Anaconda must feel like a total twat now! :roll:

Good job backing your boy. He came good. "Gonna be a tough final tomorrow. Fernando believes!

cucio · Apr 17, 2010

P_Agony said:
Watch his match against Nadal last year in Madrid and you'll get an idea why he isn't doing well - he's a headcase!

There are another players who have let escape comfortable leads over Nadal on clay, if you know who I mean, and more than once.

The only thing you can do is putting yourself in the position for trying it again until you eventually succeed or, at least, do better.

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