Short Balls, The Reason?

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Nadal knows this, why do you think the short ball problem continues through out his matches?

I have a reason in mind, but would like to see what you guys think.

Why is it? 3 grms didnt help, did it.
 

Clarky21

Banned
For someone who hates Nadal as much as you seem to,you sure do spend a lot of time making threads about him.

As for your question about why he constantly drops the ball short,imo has two answers. The spin causes his shots to dip and fall short if he plays too far behind the baseline. Anybody knows that,but the other reason is Nadal is his own worst enemy. He lacks confidence,and doesn't believe in himself more than any other player I have ever seen. He has to be brimming with it in order to be aggressive or else all he does is run around 15 feet behind the baseline defending. I have never seen as player that has accomplished as much as Nadal have such little confidence in himself. It also doesn't take much to destroy his confidence,either. One bad loss in a meaningless 250 tournament can be all it takes which is why I have said that his supposed mental strength is highly overrated.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Those freaking RPM blast strings! Get rid of them!!!


That might be contributing to it,but he was dropping the ball short with his old Duralast strings as well. I think his bh was better with his old strings for sure though.
 

ChanceEncounter

Professional
Nadal has always had that issue. He trades depth for consistency. He could very well hit the ball longer, but that also gives me less margin for error. It all depends on what Nadal wants to do.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Bingo #7.
If you or any 5.5 played Nadal, almost every ball will be deep and penetrating.
If DJ played Nadal, there is enough respect for DJ's game that Nadal would need to keep the ball IN, and some of DJ's shots force Nadal to keep the ball IN just to sustain the point. Loopy ball, high net clearance for depth, means a lot of short ball.
You don't see too many short balls from DaniH, she hits flat and shots clearing the net tend to travel.
And Nadal's philosophy. Keep the ball IN, try to beat you with his legs and his heart, doesn't mean any first strike, go for broke tennis.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Bingo #7.
If you or any 5.5 played Nadal, almost every ball will be deep and penetrating.
If DJ played Nadal, there is enough respect for DJ's game that Nadal would need to keep the ball IN, and some of DJ's shots force Nadal to keep the ball IN just to sustain the point. Loopy ball, high net clearance for depth, means a lot of short ball.
You don't see too many short balls from DaniH, she hits flat and shots clearing the net tend to travel.
And Nadal's philosophy. Keep the ball IN, try to beat you with his legs and his heart, doesn't mean any first strike, go for broke tennis.



Nope. He has ALWAYS had this problem,and well before FrankenCvac came along. He causes this problem for himself more often than not.
 

pjonesy

Professional
For someone who hates Nadal as much as you seem to,you sure do spend a lot of time making threads about him.

As for your question about why he constantly drops the ball short,imo has two answers. The spin causes his shots to dip and fall short if he plays too far behind the baseline. Anybody knows that,but the other reason is Nadal is his own worst enemy. He lacks confidence,and doesn't believe in himself more than any other player I have ever seen. He has to be brimming with it in order to be aggressive or else all he does is run around 15 feet behind the baseline defending. I have never seen as player that has accomplished as much as Nadal have such little confidence in himself. It also doesn't take much to destroy his confidence,either. One bad loss in a meaningless 250 tournament can be all it takes which is why I have said that his supposed mental strength is highly overrated.

I think Agassi might be comparable. Regarding a Hall of Fame player lacking confidence and mental toughness in some important matches.

Not sure if I agree with you at all. I don't particularly care for Nadal, but the guy is disciplined enough to play within himself. That always gives him the best chance to win. He has just been outplayed by Djokovic over the last year.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
There is NOTHING wrong with hitting a short ball, IF your opponent cannot attack you with success.
A short ball is a mistake if the opponent attacks you, then HE wins the point every time.
What else can be wrong about hitting a short ball?
Nadal is not trying to WIN the point on ONE forcing groundstoke. Nadal is trying to WIN the point by hitting enough groundstrokes that you get tired, you get bored, you get frustrated, so you go for broke and you....... MISS.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
For someone who hates Nadal as much as you seem to,you sure do spend a lot of time making threads about him.

As for your question about why he constantly drops the ball short,imo has two answers. The spin causes his shots to dip and fall short if he plays too far behind the baseline. Anybody knows that,but the other reason is Nadal is his own worst enemy. He lacks confidence,and doesn't believe in himself more than any other player I have ever seen. He has to be brimming with it in order to be aggressive or else all he does is run around 15 feet behind the baseline defending. I have never seen as player that has accomplished as much as Nadal have such little confidence in himself. It also doesn't take much to destroy his confidence,either. One bad loss in a meaningless 250 tournament can be all it takes which is why I have said that his supposed mental strength is highly overrated.

Cut the crap clarky. You have something to say join the discussion, other wise STFU. I am not a hater so dont start your BS by calling me names.
 
Well if Nadal always has hit short balls they sure seem to do the trick against Federer (GOAT candidate) don't they? :) No one listen to Dorky21, one the most clueless with regards to tennis on this forum.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
I didnt see anything that makes sense, some failed attempts at humor, as usual.

The reason, I believe, is his fitness. He lost weight and muscle. This all started after RG 09. He cant use his knees as much as he used to, and that's why his BH is more effected. Someone had mentioned this before( I think it was Mustard) which I agree with. He tried to beef up his racket a little bit to compensate which didnt work. Maybe he will add some more weight again or change his strings.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Now if purely weight was an issue, how can DaniHunt hit so many deep balls?
Nadal knows he lost weight. If he wanted to compensate, he could aim higher, given that he does practice, doesn't he?
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Now if purely weight was an issue, how can DaniHunt hit so many deep balls?
Nadal knows he lost weight. If he wanted to compensate, he could aim higher, given that he does practice, doesn't he?

Purely weight? Did you read knees?
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
Notice 125lbs. girls hardly use their knees to hit groundies (DaniH, for example) and can hit deep most shots. Injured knees affect you shot for sure, but maybe Rafa has practiced some with injured knees? You think?
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
He was definitely hitting shorter last year, he's in the right direction. He just needs to stay on the baseline and get comfortable on HC returning closer up. I think when he gets to clay and grass this year we will notice the improvement.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal has always had this problem. However, it has served him well....... by dropping the ball short with all that spin and height over the net, it results in the ball kicking super high by the time it reaches the baseline and harder to attack. Sort of like a kick serve.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Perhaps he evolved to beat Federer, and now the environment has changed, and he needs to evolve further.
 

coloskier

Legend
If Nadal played Fed the way he has to play Djoker to win, he would lose against Fed. If he hit deep then his forehand wouldn't kick up as high and Fed would not have the BH problem.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Keep the ball in, is his motto, till the other fella makes an error.
Most of the AO final was just Rafa running each ball down and just getting it across the net, while Joker was pushing him around and going for the lines, till finally Joker's ball hit the tape or the ball sailed long.

In so many points, Joker had Rafa "on the ropes" and yet he finally lost the point. See the 4th set TB after 3-5 as an example. Sadly, Nole didn't come in to close the point. However, this works great against Roger since almost each point gets reset.

Not to be rude or anything, but why did you give Djokovic those names?
You are not the one being rude, i assure you :) I think Clarky is just trying to be funny.
 

MDCCLXXVI

Rookie
For someone who hates Nadal as much as you seem to,you sure do spend a lot of time making threads about him.

As for your question about why he constantly drops the ball short,imo has two answers. The spin causes his shots to dip and fall short if he plays too far behind the baseline. Anybody knows that,but the other reason is Nadal is his own worst enemy. He lacks confidence,and doesn't believe in himself more than any other player I have ever seen. He has to be brimming with it in order to be aggressive or else all he does is run around 15 feet behind the baseline defending. I have never seen as player that has accomplished as much as Nadal have such little confidence in himself. It also doesn't take much to destroy his confidence,either. One bad loss in a meaningless 250 tournament can be all it takes which is why I have said that his supposed mental strength is highly overrated.

What did he have to be confident about at 7-5/2-6/4-6/3-4 (0-40)?
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Wondering whether Noel is also over-adapting to Nadal.:confused:

I don't think so. Nole is not doing anything special. Federer evolved in response to Nadal but that was for the better - he got himself a better backhand. In this triangle, Nadal seems to be the loser.
 
D

Deleted member 3771

Guest
The hollow plastic APD babolat racket. Joker, Fed and Murray would hit just as many short balls if they used the same racket.

Nadal knows this, why do you think the short ball problem continues through out his matches?

I have a reason in mind, but would like to see what you guys think.

Why is it? 3 grms didnt help, did it.
 
D

Deleted member 3771

Guest
we all know he uses the same racket, thats the problem, its as hollow as ever.A few years back he kept winning despite the disadvantage with the hollow plastic babolat, now he needs a decent racket.

nah, he has been using the same racket.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
we all know he uses the same racket, thats the problem, its as hollow as ever.A few years back he kept winning despite the disadvantage with the hollow plastic babolat, now he needs a decent racket.

If the racket hasnt changed then he has. That's simple. He wasnt winning by a sort of miracle when he kept winning.
 
M

monfed

Guest
we all know he uses the same racket, thats the problem, its as hollow as ever.A few years back he kept winning despite the disadvantage with the hollow plastic babolat, now he needs a decent racket.

Looks like Ralph's beatdown upon beatdown has permanently impaired Au Naturale's brain.

I hate to break it to you Au Naturale, but Petros's utter failure on clay can NEVER be repaired. Deal.with.it
 
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D

Deleted member 3771

Guest
What are those "****" the personal insult for? Are you trying to get yourself banned?

Ralph has been using the same racquet since he was in his momma's ****. What's hollow is that thick skull of yours,au naturale. :lol:
 

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
.

The reason, I believe, is his fitness. He lost weight and muscle. This all started after RG 09. He cant use his knees as much as he used to, and that's why his BH is more effected. Someone had mentioned this before( I think it was Mustard) which I agree with.

Has he really lost muscle ? On the contrary , he seems to have gained weight and muscle during the off season. This picture is from his off season practice prior to the Australian Open.

395413_10150467142191026_64822581025_8834452_1146957117_n.jpg
 

Clarky21

Banned
Coming from the MJ gif posting troll,this is rich. :lol:


Come on,now. MichaelNadal does not troll and actually posts worthwhile stuff while trollforthewin does nothing but troll the mess out of this board with his constant bs. I challenge you to find even one post from trollforthewin that isn't trolling. Make sure you have lots of time on your hands because it could be an all day job.

And Crisstti,I think the problem some people have with his strings is that they are basically for maximizing spin,something Nadal could use less of these days instead of more of.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Come on,now. MichaelNadal does not troll and actually posts worthwhile stuff while trollforthewin does nothing but troll the mess out of this board with his constant bs. I challenge you to find even one post from trollforthewin that isn't trolling. Make sure you have lots of time on your hands because it could be an all day job.

And Crisstti,I think the problem some people have with his strings is that they are basically for maximizing spin,something Nadal could use less of these days instead of more of.

Exactly. Someone that can't seem to go one post without trashing Nadal or mocking his fans is a troll, period.
 

rst

Rookie
"However, it has served him well....... by dropping the ball short with all that spin and height over the net, it results in the ball kicking super high by the time it reaches the baseline and harder to attack. Sort of like a kick serve."

this is what i was wondering somewhat.

does nadal truly hit with more top on most strokes than most other top players??

are his short balls bouncing so high as to negate the lack of depth on many of his rallies??
 

Clay lover

Legend
I'm surprised few people mentioned his long backswing and consequently his trouble with deep hard shots. Nadal has a fundamentally long and loopy forehand and when oppoonents hit hard at him he is often forced to abbreviate his swing into a short reverse forehand "wipe" and that is when his balls drop short.

When he has time he sometimes aims for the short corners so that is another reason he hits short but that ain't gonna hurt him.
 

rst

Rookie
does nadal truly hit with more top on most strokes than most other top players??

are his short balls bouncing so high as to negate the lack of depth on many of his rallies??
 

tank_job

Banned
If Nadal played Fed the way he has to play Djoker to win, he would lose against Fed. If he hit deep then his forehand wouldn't kick up as high and Fed would not have the BH problem.

Then why doesn't he just hit with extreme net clearance and topspin and land his moonball-topspin bombs right on the baseline? That would give the best of both worlds of depth, kick and height surely?
 
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