Sure was. 25 winners to 22 unforced errors is the best he has EVER played. Nothing even comes remotely close to dominance like that.
It was Djokovic 1,7. Nadal was below his best, though.
not 2.5 (or whatever internet-ism you feel like using)...
Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.
The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.
Agree. 1.9 in the first set, 1.5 in the second. Averaging to 1.7 through the match.
Erm he hit 25 winners on a clay court which is more than just consistent, and he does not have problems with a heavy ball where do you get this stuff from really.
he got a lot of short balls from nadal, which is where the great majority of those winners come from. also, nadal wasn't serving well.
it's clear to anyone who watched the match without NoleGoggles on that he gets on defense against Nadal when Nadal is hitting with depth (i.e. a heavy ball) rather than short balls. The 2nd set had numerous examples of this difference when compared to the first set where Rafa was hitting mostly short balls... hence the dramatic difference in scorelines between teh sets. This was also clear in RG when rain had caused Rafa to hit with less spin and depth (i.e. less heavy ball).
What do you attribute the difference between the two sets to? also, did you watch the full match?
They were both about the same off of their peak levels, hence the scoreline.
not 2.5 (or whatever internet-ism you feel like using)...
Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.
The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.
Seriously? That match was totally on Djokovic's racquet...not even close to being on Rafa's racquet. If he kept his foot on the gas and didn't let down/ it would have been 6-0, 6-2. Nole's best is better than Rafa's best because he can pick on Rafa's backhand. Rafa played very close to his best at times. The reason he makes more errors against Nole is because he has to hit harder and take more chances with his backhand than he likes to.
he got a lot of short balls from nadal, which is where the great majority of those winners come from. also, nadal wasn't serving well.
it's clear to anyone who watched the match without NoleGoggles on that he gets on defense against Nadal when Nadal is hitting with depth (i.e. a heavy ball) rather than short balls. The 2nd set had numerous examples of this difference when compared to the first set where Rafa was hitting mostly short balls... hence the dramatic difference in scorelines between teh sets. This was also clear in RG when rain had caused Rafa to hit with less spin and depth (i.e. less heavy ball).
What do you attribute the difference between the two sets to? also, did you watch the full match?
Sure was. 25 winners to 22 unforced errors is the best he has EVER played. Nothing even comes remotely close to dominance like that.
This is not grass, his W/UE ratio is great for clay
not 2.5 (or whatever internet-ism you feel like using)...
Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.
The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.
In some spots, he was redlining. Totally in the zone and relentless. Looked seriously in scary form and forcing Nadal to hit errors. Nadal was losing the baseline rallies percentage (rallies over 10 shots) by a considerable margin...at Monte Carlo of all places! :shock: