Djokovic dismantled Nadal’s baseline game by going hard after his forehand.

[Tennease]

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/how-djokovic-dominated-nadal-brain-game-ao-2019

Brain Game: As Nadal Looked Right, Djokovic Attacked Left

Novak Djokovic attacked Rafael Nadal's forehand throughout their Australian Open final.

Craig O'ShannessyJan 27, 2019

Serbian broke down one of Rafa's best assets.

Unleash on the strength.

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open Sunday evening by doing exactly what conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t do – play to your opponent’s best shot.

It should be a misprint, but Nadal, who had won 59 per cent of his baseline points coming into the final, only won 29.5 per cent (26/88) of his baseline points against the Super Serbian.Djokovic completely dismantled Nadal’s baseline game by going hard after his forehand.

Nadal had hit 100 forehand winners and 116 forehand errors to the final, but that ratio didn’t hold true against the World No. 1 on Sunday night at Melbourne Park. Nadal struck 11 forehand winners in the final, but committed 28 forehand errors as Djokovic constantly played wide through the Ad court to attack Nadal’s running forehand.


The theory is simple. Nadal is the best player in the world at running around his backhand in the Deuce court and upgrading to a more potent forehand. With Nadal always looking to protect to the right, Djokovic attacked to the left.

Superb from the Serbian. The first step was to break the forehand down. Then it was to double down on an overloaded backhand. Nadal had 33 backhand winners in six matches to the final, but struck just three against Djokovic while committing 21 errors.

Step two accomplished. It’s exactly the same demolition sequence at every level of our sport. Break down the forehand, then the backhand, and the serve will quickly become overheated.

Nadal made just 64 per cent first serves in the final, compared to 69 per cent leading into it. Nadal had won 81 per cent of first-serve points to the final, but that fell off a cliff to just 51 per cent against Djokovic.

If you can break down the forehand, the backhand, and then the serve, the match sits on a platter for the taking. Everywhere Nadal turned, he found a Serbian brick wall. The Spaniard was -14 in short rallies of zero-to-four shots against Djokovic, and -15 in the longer rallies of nine-plus.

Short didn’t work, and neither did long. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he had nowhere to turn to to formulate a winning plan.

Rally Length - 2019 Australian Open Final

0-4 Shots = Djokovic 49 / Nadal 35 (Djokovic +14) 5-8 Shots = Djokovic 18 / Nadal 11 (Djokovic +7) 9+ Shots = Djokovic 22 / Nadal 7 (Djokovic +15)

The average rally length for the final was 5.03 shots, with Djokovic taking the honours everywhere you looked. He faced only one break point in the final, which he saved, while Nadal faced eight, losing five of them.

What bites hard for the Spaniard is that he made four first serves on the five break break points he lost, highlighting how Djokovic consistently turned defence into offence in the final.

Nadal had been dominant against second serves to the final, including winning a dominant 70 per cent against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.

That number fell off a cliff in the final, as the Spaniard won only three of 19 second-serve points against Djokovic.

It’s now three Slams in a row, and the clock is still running.

Editor's Note: Craig O'Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic's coaching team.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

Feels a bit weird that O'Shannessy works for the ATP/media and Djokovic at the same time.

 

[N01E]

So, just like Miami '14?

 

[Zoolander]

But Nadal has the best forehand ever? Im sure thats what the commentators always tell me......

 

[Bobby Jr]

Thanks for posting about a strategy which everyone decent knew worked against Nadal years ago.

 

[Bobby Jr]

Feels a bit weird that O'Shannessy works for the ATP/media and Djokovic at the same time.

Writing articles which get published on the website is hardly a conflict if that's what you're implying.

 

[daddy]

I mean I am not sure how this is news in 2019 ? We did an analysis in late 2011 and this was the conclusion - Novak breaks down opponents attacking their stronger wing, that was the main change he made back then which led to 7 consecutive wins over Rafa when Nadal was looking like he's going to pull a Coria mental breakdown and retire.

 

[NatF]

Old news. Djokovic has been doing that for years and it's been the winning strategy behind many of Nadal's losses to other players in recent years too. Nadal absorbs/redirects pace better off the backhand than the forehand which can cough up short balls under pressure.

 

[NoleFam]

Old news. Djokovic has been doing that for years and it's been the winning strategy behind many of Nadal's losses to other players in recent years too. Nadal absorbs/redirects pace better off the backhand than the forehand which can cough up short balls under pressure.

Pretty much. This is nothing new and he has been doing this for years. This is the Becker strategy for taking on Rafa and he talked about this in a podcast with Mouratoglou and Wilander during the AO.

 

[NatF]

Pretty much. This is nothing new and he has been doing this for years. This is the Becker strategy for taking on Rafa and he talked about this in a podcast with Mouratoglou and Wilander during the AO.

I wonder who the first person to attempt that strategy was, Djokovic made it famous but as far back as 2007 I remember Lleyton Hewitt attacking the forehand in Hamburg in that really tight match.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

The blueprint to dismantle Nadal's game is well known, Djokovic just seems to be the best at exploiting it.

 

[NoleFam]

I wonder who the first person to attempt that strategy was, Djokovic made it famous but as far back as 2007 I remember Lleyton Hewitt attacking the forehand in Hamburg in that really tight match.

I'm not sure to be honest. I think on hardcourt it's easier for Djokovic to do that strategy but he got burned often when he tried it on clay. Becker was saying that Djokovic was reluctant to his strategy at 1st but when he broke it down to him he realized it was the way to play him. Most players are terrified of the Rafa forehand, especially on clay. Lol.

 

[NatF]

I'm not sure to be honest. I think on hardcourt it's easier for Djokovic to do that strategy but he got burned often when he tried it on clay. Becker was saying that Djokovic was reluctant to his strategy at 1st but when he broke it down to him he realized it was the way to play him. Most players are terrified of the Rafa forehand, especially on clay. Lol.

As they should be lol.

Nadal looked slow moving out to his forehand side at times this tournament, his camp seem to be saying it's because he didn't have time to fully rehabilitate after surgery - will be interesting to see if that aspect of his game improves this season.

 

[NoleFam]

As they should be lol.

Nadal looked slow moving out to his forehand side at times this tournament, his camp seem to be saying it's because he didn't have time to fully rehabilitate after surgery - will be interesting to see if that aspect of his game improves this season.

Yep I agree.

I couldn't really access his movement that well because no one really was good enough to make him move. I think he ran 2 miles less than Djokovic did before the final. Then when he gets to the final you can see his movement is really not great right now. I thought he moved exceptionally well at Wimbledon. I think he will work on that after seeing what happened this tournament.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

The interesting part is not what Djokovic aims to do, but how he achieves it.

Other than that, the "revelation" that, if you break down the opponent's FH, BH, and serve, he has nowhere to go, has to be the height of pretentious nothingness.

 

[-NN-]

Out of interest, what else is there to attack? Are there many options?

 

[Bartelby]

He has looked slow for a while now, but it is wise not to admit to any permanent decline.

As they should be lol.

Nadal looked slow moving out to his forehand side at times this tournament, his camp seem to be saying it's because he didn't have time to fully rehabilitate after surgery - will be interesting to see if that aspect of his game improves this season.

 

[Bartelby]

I suppose his principal argument is that Djokovic attacked the forehand rather than engaging in a backhand duel and/or allowing Nadal the chance to run around his backhand.

After that 'insight' the rest is padding. This is usually seen as quite hard, but I think with Nadal's slowing there is not much downside to this approach.

Out of interest, what else is there to attack? Are there many options?

 

[tex123]

Nadal made it pretty clear that since his injury, he has not practiced the defensive part of the game. He said he practiced the offensive part quite a bit but against Novak he needed his defensive part of the game which could be converted to offensive part. The lop sided score is because Nadal was not ready to play at such a high level since his return. He was able to reach the final without dropping a set mainly following an aggressive strategy which works against most players not named Novak.

That formula of attacking forehand is old. He has been doing that for ages and Nadal fully expecting that. No wonder he was so nervous as he knew deep inside the match was too big for him since his return from injury. He needed a few more matches under his belt to be able to compete with Novak.

 

[Bartelby]

There is no reason to believe what a player says even if he clearly believes it himself.

Given that he had thrashed all his previous opponents, he didn't get much chance to play defensively.

He should be so lucky!

Nadal made it pretty clear that since his injury, he has not practiced the defensive part of the game. He said he practiced the offensive part quite a bit but against Novak he needed his defensive part of the game which could be converted to offensive part. The lop sided score is because Nadal was not ready to play at such a high level since his return. He was able to reach the final without dropping a set mainly following an aggressive strategy which works against most players not named Novak.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Nadal's BH ratio of W/UE 3/21
FH ratio 11/28

 

[RVAtennisaddict]

As they should be lol.

Nadal looked slow moving out to his forehand side at times this tournament, his camp seem to be saying it's because he didn't have time to fully rehabilitate after surgery - will be interesting to see if that aspect of his game improves this season.

They took out a bone spur. He is not wearing a brace and does not appear to have his ankle wrapped. And he decimated ALL players going into this match. He should have never brought up is injury/recovery in the closing ceremony, and it really was a non-factor. Serena's ankle arguable was, Nadal's was not.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Never worked for me on Tennis Elbow.

 

[Night Slasher]

Players started to exploit Nadal's FH on hard courts log ago. Even though Nole is probably the one with most success with this tactics, there were many who employed this particular strategy.
As it is mentioned, Hewitt did it in Hamburg in 2007, Blake was targeting Nadal's forehand in several occasions, Davydenko also had success by playing to his FH, Youzhny, etc.

However, the best example of exploiting Rafa's forehand was demonstrated by Moya in his performance against Rafa in Chennai. He was pummeling Nadal's forehand during the entire match and usually was able to either force the error or to elicit a short reply. It's a pity he choked in the end, but he dismantled Rafa's big weapon.

 

[OddJack]

O'shannessey is good. But I remember Novak saying it himself a while back: Nadal moves to right immediately after hitting a FH to protect the BH, so Novak puts the ball behind him to the FH. Then he goes to BH to get him on the run

 

[stringertom]

Wawrinka dared to go at The Nadal FH in their AO final too and pummeled the short responses to that tactic before the lengthy injury timeout. There is so much open deuce court in which to safely end the point on the next shot now that his court coverage is not at a superhuman level.

 

[wangs78]

All these top guys have the shots (FH, BH, etc.), so at the end of the day, it's all about speed/movement, and Novak has no equal right now in that department. The reason Nole can exploit Rafa's FH as much as he did was Nole consistently got to the ball with time to target the ad (Nadal's FH) corner and hit that shot with depth and pace. You can't do that if you are a step slow. I was surprised by how often Nole was running around his backhand to hit his FH either DTL or crosscourt... that was how much speed / time he had to hit those shots.

One day even Nole will slow down, but my, this was a scary exhibition of his abilities. When you think about the nexgen, so many of them are big/tall that apart from Shapo and Thiem, none of those guys even have the potential to get to the level of movement that Nole, Rafa and Fed had when in prime form. Some of those big guys (Kachanov, Zverev) could maybe beat Nole in a best of 3 buy overpowering Novak, but in best of 5? That's where superior movement takes the cake.

 

[Steve0904]

This isn't news. Djokovic has been doing it since 2011, maybe even before, just with less success due to other factors.

 

[JMR]

Writing articles which get published on the website is hardly a conflict if that's what you're implying.

But don't make it seem like impartial analysis from a neutral observer. Go upfront with the information that the writer is a Djokovic coach, and call the piece something like, "Team Djokovic's strategy for breaking down Nadal's forehand."

 

[BeatlesFan]

Nadal looked slow moving out to his forehand side at times this tournament, his camp seem to be saying it's because he didn't have time to fully rehabilitate after surgery - will be interesting to see if that aspect of his game improves this season.

His camp is full of it. Fed's movement to his FH has been in decline since at least 2012 and been in free fall since early 2018. Agassi's movement to his FH dropped off a cliff after 2002, yet he continued to play till 2006, having that element to his game exploited. Lendl retired before his movement to his FH deteriorated to the "hellish" category, but it was well on its way. Laver has speculated a couple times that great FH players lose movement to that shot quicker than those with "OK" forehands.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Went Frank Castle on him. Punished that forehand, backhand and the best volleys on the tour, ya know.

 

[SoccerGuy]

I remember that being an Agassi tactic, maybe his coaching had some benefit after all?

 

[Dwell]

But Nadal has the best forehand ever? Im sure thats what the commentators always tell me......

 

[Holmes]

He beat Roger doing the same thing.

 

[nolefam_2024]

My question is, is the AO19 win a bit overrated? I think the doha 2016 was perfect match on a fast court by Djokovic. This one was good by only Djokovic's side. Nadal was poor.

 

[ALCARAZWON]

Nadal had ankle surgery just before the 2019 AO and was nowhere near ready, so the first player who really made him run would destroy him.
Tsitsipas played the weakest match he's ever played vs. Nadal.
Nobody made Nadal run until the final.
"....because of the things that happened to me in terms of surgery, then what happened in Abu Dhabi, I was not able to work that much the defensive game. I worked a lot on the offensive game, but not that much on the defensive game.
To play against a player like him, playing the way he played tonight, I needed that defensive game to finally have the chance to be offensive, no?"
https://ausopen.com/articles/interviews/rafael-nadal-f-interview

 

[Rovesciarete]

A stroke can be big and even great but maybe not that resilient. I suspect that Nadal was rarely challenged on that wing with power and pace and on hardcourt playing into his forehand robbed him of more time.

The classic tactic against a big ball striker like Sinner is to avoid the more versatile wing and mix it up against the weaker one. Zverev, Djokovic and Medvedev were able to pull that off thanks to a bullet proof backhand. However if this doesn’t work out on a suitable surfaces going big can be smart. Heavy shots against Nadal’s forehand might be one way for Sinner to go on clay.

 

[ALCARAZWON]

And for the record, Djokovic went "hard after Nadal's forehand" at 2010 and 2013 US Open Finals, but it had very little effect, because Nadal's forehand was on fire.
You can't beat Nadal when his forehand is on fire (unless he's physically underdone like 2019 AO).
And 2011 US Open, Nadal said he couldn't practice properly during the US Summer because of the Wimbledon foot injury, so after beating Murray in the USO SF he lacked the stamina.

 

[Fabresque]

Nad’s don’t got the time and space to set up the big whipping forehands on hard courts, Djok just targets it with deep penetrating strokes till inevitably Rafa misses or drops it short which is easily converted.

His backhand doesn’t need much set up so he can absorb pace a bit better off that wing.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Nad’s don’t got the time and space to set up the big whipping forehands on hard courts, Djok just targets it with deep penetrating strokes till inevitably Rafa misses or drops it short which is easily converted.

His backhand doesn’t need much set up so he can absorb pace a bit better off that wing.

I checked the Wimbledon 2018 semis. Nadal can quickly set up his fhs as well. But it wouldn't be enough vs Djokovic on hc where he will defend much more than grass.

Nadal is all about high percentage tennis.