ForehandCross
G.O.A.T.
@MichaelNadal 's thread inspired me.
AO 2019 F:
I remember a section of the "other" forum was really really blown away by Nadal's level. I know it's been forgotten, but before the final many thought this was the best Nadal at the AO. @NADALalot and his clan of 50 duplicates specifically kept raving there about his new serve.
So why Djokovic streamrolled Nadal?
Simple answer: Djokovic's Defense and Nadal's utter confusion when it came to Strategy.
-Djokovic and not giving an inch:
Nadal hit considerably big , especially off of the backhand before the finals.
The players that Nadal faced, would concede considerable ground after a huge shot of Nadal, and the point would end within 2-3 shots. Basically Nadal had to hit one to two quality offensive. Giving a false pretense of commanding offense.
Djokovic however has the ability to not concede an inch even if you have hit big or restore the rally nuetral even on the run.
The entire 2011 USO 3rd set had Nadal throwing himself into every ball and he had to hit like 3-4 winners AFTER a long rally to get the ball past Djokovic.
What Nadal wasn't able to do here ,was to actually string 3-4 strokes of quality offense.
Actually nobody really has done that against Djokovic at AO except Wawrinka. Even Federer isn't able to do that regularly to Djokovic on any court.
This was a stupid stupid strategy.
In AO 2012 , Nadal made it a physical contest, denied Djokovic errors and properly planned and constructed points very very safely and took opportunity, whenever they presented them.
2019 Nadal tried to take it to Djokovic , but he actually had very little to really show.
- Nadal Strategy being up in the air:
Nadal panicked tbh. For probably the first time in his career he thought too much. He and his team were too confident from previous matches to see that Djokovic presented a challenge of a whole different level.
I have absolutely never seen Nadal that nervous in the beginning of any match.
He literally had got no depth on his balls. And Djokovic bombarded him with deep balls.
His "new" serve was ripped apart and his "neo BH" gunshots returned at his feet.
Nadal was shook. And he really didn't show up till one and a half sets were over.
- God-like Djokovic:
Well duh, it's an AO final. Djokovic was phenomenal, but in a subtler way than say 2016. And it was He who took the game to Nadal . But it wasn't brute Force like 2011 USO, it was more precision and depth.
Every half chance that Nadal would get in rallies would come undone within two shots of Djokovic FH and the third would be an winner for Djokovic.
I have always said Federer is the best when it comes to getting in position to be offensive, but Djokovic was outstanding in that department.
Djokovic's FH is relatively lesser in firepower than Nadal's, but the way he used it to make Nadal run was amazing.
- Nadal's on the run shots being dead and the FH lacking depth
If you have a Djokovic that's playing bonkers for the life of you ,you cannot have a bad day on the run.
Djokovic smothers you by spreading the court, but Nadal didn't even need that.
Nadal either coughed up uncharacteristic errors or a very weak mid court ball often on the run.
Wrote too much. Here's what I thought of RG 2020, will write in detail after some time:
-Nadal studied Djokovic's patterns big time, he was fast but his anticipation was off the charts. He was absolutely ready to deal with balls falling on his feets all day.
-Djokovic now lacks the power and the physicality to take down Nadal in that form , he alongsode Thiem probably was the only one who actually had those attributes.
But now he doesn't have the power or physicality of 2011-16 to take down Nadal by the horn.
-Nadal's FH made it a blood bath. It's not about the winners but about the instant advantage Nadal gets when he uses it.
Djokovic is one of the few who never regularly has to push himself back when facing Nadal's FH on Clay, but here Nadal had the time to be extremely aggressive with it.
Sometimes he didn't even try to open up the court and straight up went big to draw a weak reply.
That's not what Nadal usually does, but Nadal really wanted to put doubt in Djokovic's mind in that first set.
-Djokovic's bad luck and the first set:
The first set, all the important points went Nadal's way. The set was very tight but the bagel must have put loads of doubt in Djokovic's mind.
I have no doubt that the first set crushed Djokovic's belief. The belief that he was going to win.
And I have no doubt that Nadal wanted to win the 1st at any cost, but even he might not have expected the bagel.
Djokovic on the whole was very lucky in that first set, somewhat unlucky in 3rd too.
AO 2019 F:
I remember a section of the "other" forum was really really blown away by Nadal's level. I know it's been forgotten, but before the final many thought this was the best Nadal at the AO. @NADALalot and his clan of 50 duplicates specifically kept raving there about his new serve.
So why Djokovic streamrolled Nadal?
Simple answer: Djokovic's Defense and Nadal's utter confusion when it came to Strategy.
-Djokovic and not giving an inch:
Nadal hit considerably big , especially off of the backhand before the finals.
The players that Nadal faced, would concede considerable ground after a huge shot of Nadal, and the point would end within 2-3 shots. Basically Nadal had to hit one to two quality offensive. Giving a false pretense of commanding offense.
Djokovic however has the ability to not concede an inch even if you have hit big or restore the rally nuetral even on the run.
The entire 2011 USO 3rd set had Nadal throwing himself into every ball and he had to hit like 3-4 winners AFTER a long rally to get the ball past Djokovic.
What Nadal wasn't able to do here ,was to actually string 3-4 strokes of quality offense.
Actually nobody really has done that against Djokovic at AO except Wawrinka. Even Federer isn't able to do that regularly to Djokovic on any court.
This was a stupid stupid strategy.
In AO 2012 , Nadal made it a physical contest, denied Djokovic errors and properly planned and constructed points very very safely and took opportunity, whenever they presented them.
2019 Nadal tried to take it to Djokovic , but he actually had very little to really show.
- Nadal Strategy being up in the air:
Nadal panicked tbh. For probably the first time in his career he thought too much. He and his team were too confident from previous matches to see that Djokovic presented a challenge of a whole different level.
I have absolutely never seen Nadal that nervous in the beginning of any match.
He literally had got no depth on his balls. And Djokovic bombarded him with deep balls.
His "new" serve was ripped apart and his "neo BH" gunshots returned at his feet.
Nadal was shook. And he really didn't show up till one and a half sets were over.
- God-like Djokovic:
Well duh, it's an AO final. Djokovic was phenomenal, but in a subtler way than say 2016. And it was He who took the game to Nadal . But it wasn't brute Force like 2011 USO, it was more precision and depth.
Every half chance that Nadal would get in rallies would come undone within two shots of Djokovic FH and the third would be an winner for Djokovic.
I have always said Federer is the best when it comes to getting in position to be offensive, but Djokovic was outstanding in that department.
Djokovic's FH is relatively lesser in firepower than Nadal's, but the way he used it to make Nadal run was amazing.
- Nadal's on the run shots being dead and the FH lacking depth
If you have a Djokovic that's playing bonkers for the life of you ,you cannot have a bad day on the run.
Djokovic smothers you by spreading the court, but Nadal didn't even need that.
Nadal either coughed up uncharacteristic errors or a very weak mid court ball often on the run.
Wrote too much. Here's what I thought of RG 2020, will write in detail after some time:
-Nadal studied Djokovic's patterns big time, he was fast but his anticipation was off the charts. He was absolutely ready to deal with balls falling on his feets all day.
-Djokovic now lacks the power and the physicality to take down Nadal in that form , he alongsode Thiem probably was the only one who actually had those attributes.
But now he doesn't have the power or physicality of 2011-16 to take down Nadal by the horn.
-Nadal's FH made it a blood bath. It's not about the winners but about the instant advantage Nadal gets when he uses it.
Djokovic is one of the few who never regularly has to push himself back when facing Nadal's FH on Clay, but here Nadal had the time to be extremely aggressive with it.
Sometimes he didn't even try to open up the court and straight up went big to draw a weak reply.
That's not what Nadal usually does, but Nadal really wanted to put doubt in Djokovic's mind in that first set.
-Djokovic's bad luck and the first set:
The first set, all the important points went Nadal's way. The set was very tight but the bagel must have put loads of doubt in Djokovic's mind.
I have no doubt that the first set crushed Djokovic's belief. The belief that he was going to win.
And I have no doubt that Nadal wanted to win the 1st at any cost, but even he might not have expected the bagel.
Djokovic on the whole was very lucky in that first set, somewhat unlucky in 3rd too.
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