S
srinrajesh
Guest
Hello Nadal fans
What does Nadal need to employ in his strategy to improve his game and dominate Djoker again?
I feel that even though Novak has won all five matches this year, Rafa had a fair chance to win 2/3 of those if he had just maintained his focus- Miami, Indian Wells and even Wimby. Novak has played at his best level when he has played Nadal and it wont be possible for him to maintain that high standard..
On the other hand Nadal has to show better mental toughness and shrug off five straight losses. He needs to do it sooner rather than later.
I have listed a few reasons that have contributed to his string of losses to Djoker apart from djoker's high level of play
1) Nadal opting to receive serve and serving behind and under pressure in the closing stages.
Out of the last 3 matches Vs Djoker he played 8 sets Djoker won 7/7 sets in which he served first. Nadal won the only set where he served first.
WIMBY
Nole won 3/3 when he served first
Rome
Nole won 2/2 when he served first. Broke both times in final game when Rafa served to stay in the set
Madrid
Nole won 2/2 when he served first. Broke both times in final game when Rafa served to stay in the set
So out of the last 8 sets they have played the player starting the set has won each time.
In other two matches in non tie break sets
Miami and Indian Wells
Nole won 2/4 when he served first.
2) Break points and conversion
Indian Wells
Rafa 3/9
Djoker 5/8
Miami
Rafa 2/4
Djoker 2/9
Madrid
Rafa 3/6
Djoker 5/12
Rome
Rafa 2/3
Djoker 4/11
Wimby
Rafa 3/6
Djoker 5/6
So overall in 5 matches Rafa has a 13/28 record in 14 sets played. If you leave out the tie break set.. that means on average Rafa has got a break once every set. Usually that may be sufficient for him to win 3/ 4 out of the five matches but the problem has been that his serve has been put under continual pressure. Novak has 21/46 record. For starters that is 18 breakpoints more than Nadal has managed. What this shows is the big gulf in serving this year. Nadal has not managed to hold serve well this year. He has struggled even against lower players like Pablo Andujar and the like.
So i feel he has to make the following changes
1) Nadal needs to show calculated aggression. At wimbledon especially he seemed frustrated by Novak's defence and went for more on his groundstrokes resulting in more errors. He should be prepared to mentally grind it out like he did on clay last few years.
2) Nadal has to use the short angles more to drag Novak off court particularly on his backhand like he used to do earlier.
3) Rafa has to come into the net more. There were number of rallies at wimby particularly where he appeared to be dominating the rally but couldn't close out because of Novak's defence which is now the best in the world.
4) Rafa has to use the kicker serve to Djoker's forehand more often particularly in the deuce court. Belluci had great success with that at Madrid where he almost beat novak.
5) Rafa has to change the pace of shot from time to time to keep Novak guessing. He likes pace in the rallies and may struggle when it is not available. However Nadal needs to hit hs slices either very deep in the court or well executed drop shot. Tomic exploited this at wimby QTF but didnt have experience to close out the match.
6) Nadal needs to surprise Djoker by choosing to serve first at times when he wins the toss. This can help him put pressure on Novak at the end of the set instead of being under pressure. This could help him especially if he wins first set by breaking serve and starting ahead in the second.
7) Nadal needs to put more pressure on Novak's serve by going for more on the second serve.
8) Nadal's down the line forehand from his backhand corner is not working because it is hit to Djoker's BH which is his strength. He needs to change it up and needs to work on Djoker's FH. He needs to hit his forehand down the line from his FH corner so that it goes to Djoker's FH.
9) Needs to be more confident mentally and not be affected by his losses.. This is easier said than done though.. He just needs one victory to turn things around.
10) Needs a new member in his entourage to come up with new ideas..
Also i expect Novak's level to drop slightly as he has played amazing tennis in the first 7 months and it does not seem possible to repeat that the whole year.
What does Nadal need to employ in his strategy to improve his game and dominate Djoker again?
I feel that even though Novak has won all five matches this year, Rafa had a fair chance to win 2/3 of those if he had just maintained his focus- Miami, Indian Wells and even Wimby. Novak has played at his best level when he has played Nadal and it wont be possible for him to maintain that high standard..
On the other hand Nadal has to show better mental toughness and shrug off five straight losses. He needs to do it sooner rather than later.
I have listed a few reasons that have contributed to his string of losses to Djoker apart from djoker's high level of play
1) Nadal opting to receive serve and serving behind and under pressure in the closing stages.
Out of the last 3 matches Vs Djoker he played 8 sets Djoker won 7/7 sets in which he served first. Nadal won the only set where he served first.
WIMBY
Nole won 3/3 when he served first
Rome
Nole won 2/2 when he served first. Broke both times in final game when Rafa served to stay in the set
Madrid
Nole won 2/2 when he served first. Broke both times in final game when Rafa served to stay in the set
So out of the last 8 sets they have played the player starting the set has won each time.
In other two matches in non tie break sets
Miami and Indian Wells
Nole won 2/4 when he served first.
2) Break points and conversion
Indian Wells
Rafa 3/9
Djoker 5/8
Miami
Rafa 2/4
Djoker 2/9
Madrid
Rafa 3/6
Djoker 5/12
Rome
Rafa 2/3
Djoker 4/11
Wimby
Rafa 3/6
Djoker 5/6
So overall in 5 matches Rafa has a 13/28 record in 14 sets played. If you leave out the tie break set.. that means on average Rafa has got a break once every set. Usually that may be sufficient for him to win 3/ 4 out of the five matches but the problem has been that his serve has been put under continual pressure. Novak has 21/46 record. For starters that is 18 breakpoints more than Nadal has managed. What this shows is the big gulf in serving this year. Nadal has not managed to hold serve well this year. He has struggled even against lower players like Pablo Andujar and the like.
So i feel he has to make the following changes
1) Nadal needs to show calculated aggression. At wimbledon especially he seemed frustrated by Novak's defence and went for more on his groundstrokes resulting in more errors. He should be prepared to mentally grind it out like he did on clay last few years.
2) Nadal has to use the short angles more to drag Novak off court particularly on his backhand like he used to do earlier.
3) Rafa has to come into the net more. There were number of rallies at wimby particularly where he appeared to be dominating the rally but couldn't close out because of Novak's defence which is now the best in the world.
4) Rafa has to use the kicker serve to Djoker's forehand more often particularly in the deuce court. Belluci had great success with that at Madrid where he almost beat novak.
5) Rafa has to change the pace of shot from time to time to keep Novak guessing. He likes pace in the rallies and may struggle when it is not available. However Nadal needs to hit hs slices either very deep in the court or well executed drop shot. Tomic exploited this at wimby QTF but didnt have experience to close out the match.
6) Nadal needs to surprise Djoker by choosing to serve first at times when he wins the toss. This can help him put pressure on Novak at the end of the set instead of being under pressure. This could help him especially if he wins first set by breaking serve and starting ahead in the second.
7) Nadal needs to put more pressure on Novak's serve by going for more on the second serve.
8) Nadal's down the line forehand from his backhand corner is not working because it is hit to Djoker's BH which is his strength. He needs to change it up and needs to work on Djoker's FH. He needs to hit his forehand down the line from his FH corner so that it goes to Djoker's FH.
9) Needs to be more confident mentally and not be affected by his losses.. This is easier said than done though.. He just needs one victory to turn things around.
10) Needs a new member in his entourage to come up with new ideas..
Also i expect Novak's level to drop slightly as he has played amazing tennis in the first 7 months and it does not seem possible to repeat that the whole year.
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