Analysis of the Nole/Nadal match

[mcenroefan]

Here's my brief take on it.

1st set--both players play incredibly well. Very tight set...Nole proves that his game is better than Nadal's A game...even on grass.

Interesting question: Has anyone lost a set in a Wimby final after serving at 84% or above in that set?

2nd set---Nadal slips a little. Nole stays at A grade level. A dominant set.

3rd set---Now, Nole slips a tad. Nadal senses it and raises level....Nadal dominates the set. Interesting question: Did Nole semi-concede the last game so that he would start the 4th set serving?

4th set: Both players start getting tight...level drops to B grade for both players. In the end, Nole manages to commit fewer UE's on the big points and triumphs.

All four sets were won by the player who started serving the set....kinda interesting. scoreboard pressure?

Aftermath: Nole's A Game is now probably better than Nadal's A-Game on grass and clay. Ironically, NAdal's best chance against Nole may be on hard courts b/c he seems to be getting beaten up in the longer rallies.

Anyone else have some thoughts.

 

[rafabull]

Pro Match Results?

 

[namelessone]

Here's my brief take on it.

1st set--both players play incredibly well. Very tight set...Nole proves that his game is better than Nadal's A game...even on grass.

Interesting question: Has anyone lost a set in a Wimby final after serving at 90% or above in that set?

2nd set---Nadal slips a little. Nole stays at A grade level. A dominant set.

3rd set---Now, Nole slips a tad. Nadal senses it and raises level....Nadal dominates the set. Interesting question: Did Nole semi-concede the last game so that he would start the 4th set serving?

4th set: Both players start getting tight...level drops to B grade for both players. In the end, Nole manages to commit fewer UE's on the big points and triumphs.

All four sets were won by the player who started serving the set....kinda interesting. scoreboard pressure?

Aftermath: Nole's A Game is now probably better than Nadal's A-Game on grass and clay. Ironically, NAdal's best chance against Nole may be on hard courts b/c he seems to be getting beaten up in the longer rallies.

Anyone else have some thoughts.

Nadal did not bring his A-game to clay this season and his clay game has decline massively IMO.

His 2011 form on grass I liked, it was overall quite good, don't know if 2008/2010 good but still damn good overall.

However his clay form...

 

[mcenroefan]

Pro Match Results?

My bad...I thought I was in the PMR forum when posting. Moderators...please move the thread.

 

[tacou]

nadal played bad . novak still would have won he played so good, but rafa had chances to get into a 5th set and he just sucked

 

[Marius_Hancu]

THE HUGEST BRAINCRAMP for Nadal was to not have S-Volleyed, he's the better of the two at that, even though today at one time he was 2-7 at the net.

He let Djoko get the initiative by coming to the net. STUPIDEST ERROR of them all.

 

[pringles]

Here's my brief take on it.

1st set--both players play incredibly well. Very tight set...Nole proves that his game is better than Nadal's A game...even on grass.

Interesting question: Has anyone lost a set in a Wimby final after serving at 90% or above in that set?

2nd set---Nadal slips a little. Nole stays at A grade level. A dominant set.

3rd set---Now, Nole slips a tad. Nadal senses it and raises level....Nadal dominates the set. Interesting question: Did Nole semi-concede the last game so that he would start the 4th set serving?

4th set: Both players start getting tight...level drops to B grade for both players. In the end, Nole manages to commit fewer UE's on the big points and triumphs.

All four sets were won by the player who started serving the set....kinda interesting. scoreboard pressure?

Aftermath: Nole's A Game is now probably better than Nadal's A-Game on grass and clay. Ironically, NAdal's best chance against Nole may be on hard courts b/c he seems to be getting beaten up in the longer rallies.

Anyone else have some thoughts.

It was the same scenario on clay between them. Djokovic won all 4 sets serving first in all 4.

 

[TennezSport]

Numbers.....

Djokster has Rafas number and he has become better than Rafa in every aspect; serve, return, speed, reaction, backhand and even with the forehand. Djoker has also caught up in the mental department so Rafa has no where to go. When Mac asked Rafa what he will do to change his game Rafa had no answer because he does not have any other game to fall back on except moonballing; that won't work either.

With Rafas body coming apart and Djoker getting better and more confident Rafa will have to get real lucky to win any more.

Cheers, TennezSport

 

[nereis]

This match opened up in a different manner than all their other matches. Nadal came in with a gameplan. What he did in the first set was serve almost exclusively to the Djokovic forehand and he was very successful with that strategy. His counter to the Djokovic backhand crosscourt would be a powerfully topspun ball deep into the forehand that would either win the point outright or set up a sitter midcourt. But when he was down 0-30 at the end of the first set he reverted to the comfortable thing and served two balls to the backhand, contrary to his successful strategy, and he lost that set.

The second set was more of the same but Djokovic cottoned on to Nadal and began sitting on that forehand down the line and began dominating. He was very successful slicing serves into the Nadal backhand on the deuce court as Nadal could no attack off the potent slice/kick mix. Likewise the slow, rolled topspin forehand sharply angled paid dividends as Nadal, not expecting them was forced to take his right hand off and slice (a play straight from the Davydenko matches). At the same time Djokovic knew that Nadal would always try a kick serve into the body on his second serve and began tee-ing off. At this point every attempt to avoid the Djokovic backhand was resulting in Djokovic attacking both wings with his forehand, but the odd crosscourt Djokovic backhand into the Nadal forehand showed why Nadal wanted to avoid that exchange.

It's in the third set that things got interesting, as Nadal began to change up his serving pattern. Before he had been serving into the forehand on first serves and into the body on second serves, except under pressure when he would go to the backhand, predictably. Now he abandons the can opener on deuce court and serves to the middle on both sides, confusing Djokovic. At the same time because Djokovic has been countering Nadal's down the line forehands with his own forehand down the line, Nadal sits on it and spins it deep into the Djokovic backhand. Djokovic begins missing and the momentum shifts to Nadal. Nadal begins to sit on the slow, angled topspin forehand from Djokovic and tees off with his backhand crosscourt.

The fourth set was very scrappy from both players as they begin to adjust to each other's strategies. Djokovic regains his form and begins reading the Nadal serving pattern once more. By the end of the set Nadal is serving almost every ball to Djokovic's backhand (when under stress people revert to what is comfortable) and Djokovic resumes his attack on the Nadal forehand. In the end both Nadal's forehand and backhand break down and Djokovic is the champion.

 

[Tennis Is Magic]

My analysis: It was almost a carbon copy of the Djokovic-Tsonga match, except not as close.

 

[Slice&Smash]

It was the same scenario on clay between them. Djokovic won all 4 sets serving first in all 4.

Its because Nadal is starting to feel the pressure when playing Novak. He got into his head after the Miami loss.

In all matches after Miami, every time the set is about to close, Nadal chokes and loses the game and the set.

Mental toughness is a myth. It's all about winning.

 

[Sentinel]

Nadal did not bring his A-game to clay this season and his clay game has decline massively IMO.

His 2011 form on grass I liked, it was overall quite good, don't know if 2008/2010 good but still damn good overall.

However his clay form...

Basically, we are saying that Nadal was not 100% since he lost. Anyone who can't see that is just delusional, or has never played tennis. Haters gonna hate.

 

[Biscuitmcgriddleson]

Nadal did not bring his A-game to clay this season and his clay game has decline massively IMO.

His 2011 form on grass I liked, it was overall quite good, don't know if 2008/2010 good but still damn good overall.

However his clay form...

You think that 2010 was better than 2007? I think 2007 was the best he has played on grass.

 

[OddJack]

Nadal's level was irrelevant in this match.

He has been beaten by him at any and all his levels.

 

[namelessone]

You think that 2010 was better than 2007? I think 2007 was the best he has played on grass.

I don't know, Rafa in 2010/2011 played pretty well at WB. Didn't he have something like 60 winners against DelPo? And he did scrounge up another win against Murray will losing the first set in a stupid way?
In 2010 he also came back from being nearly bageled in the first set to beating a tough player in Soderling, finished Murray in what was a very tight match(even though it was straight sets) and took Berdych out(conqueror of Fed and Djoko).

If he didn't meet Djoko, I think Rafa would have won WB this year.

Overall I think his 2010/2011 grass level is not that far off his 2007/2008 form IMO.

The decline is certainly not as bad as what's happening to Rafa on clay.

 

[roysid]

Here's my brief take on it.

1st set--both players play incredibly well. Very tight set...Nole proves that his game is better than Nadal's A game...even on grass.

Interesting question: Has anyone lost a set in a Wimby final after serving at 84% or above in that set?

2nd set---Nadal slips a little. Nole stays at A grade level. A dominant set.

3rd set---Now, Nole slips a tad. Nadal senses it and raises level....Nadal dominates the set. Interesting question: Did Nole semi-concede the last game so that he would start the 4th set serving?

4th set: Both players start getting tight...level drops to B grade for both players. In the end, Nole manages to commit fewer UE's on the big points and triumphs.

All four sets were won by the player who started serving the set....kinda interesting. scoreboard pressure?

Aftermath: Nole's A Game is now probably better than Nadal's A-Game on grass and clay. Ironically, NAdal's best chance against Nole may be on hard courts b/c he seems to be getting beaten up in the longer rallies.

Anyone else have some thoughts.

Both guys at 5-1 let go off the service game. That's a good strategy considering you use the energy to attack in the next set.

 

[martini1]

Here's my brief take on it.

1st set--both players play incredibly well. Very tight set...Nole proves that his game is better than Nadal's A game...even on grass.

Interesting question: Has anyone lost a set in a Wimby final after serving at 84% or above in that set?

2nd set---Nadal slips a little. Nole stays at A grade level. A dominant set.

3rd set---Now, Nole slips a tad. Nadal senses it and raises level....Nadal dominates the set. Interesting question: Did Nole semi-concede the last game so that he would start the 4th set serving?

4th set: Both players start getting tight...level drops to B grade for both players. In the end, Nole manages to commit fewer UE's on the big points and triumphs.

All four sets were won by the player who started serving the set....kinda interesting. scoreboard pressure?

Aftermath: Nole's A Game is now probably better than Nadal's A-Game on grass and clay. Ironically, NAdal's best chance against Nole may be on hard courts b/c he seems to be getting beaten up in the longer rallies.

Anyone else have some thoughts.

But Rafa always chooses to return first. So the first set data is off because he pretty much is the returner regardless who won the toss, and Rafa doesn't drop first set all the time.

 

[roysid]

But Rafa always chooses to return first. So the first set data is off because he pretty much is the returner regardless who won the toss, and Rafa doesn't drop first set all the time.

That's Rafa's superstition to receive.
And not a bad strategy also. Because in first game if the server is not in rythm he can get the break.