Duel Match Stats/Reports - Nadal vs Coria, Monte Carlo & Rome finals, 2005

[Waspsting]

Rafael Nadal beat Guillermo Coria 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 in the Monte Carlo final, 2005 on clay

It was Nadal's first Masters title and he would go onto win the 7 in Monte Carlo. Coria was the defending champion. The two would go onto play the final in Rome soon after with the same result. Nadal would go onto win his first French Open shortly after that

Nadal won 122 points, Coria 108

Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (87/120) 73%
- 1st serve points won (51/87) 59%
- 2nd serve points won (18/33) 55%
- Aces 2 (1 not clean), Service Winners 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (10/120) 8%

Coria...
- 1st serve percentage (63/110) 57%
- 1st serve points won (40/63) 63%
- 2nd serve points won (17/47) 36%
- Aces 1 (a second serve)
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/110) 8%

Serve Patterns
Nadal served...
- to FH 24%
- to BH 74%
- to Body 2%

Coria served...
- to FH 21%
- to BH 73%
- to Body 7%

Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 98 (55 FH, 43 BH), including 32 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH), both runaround FHs
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (2 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (98/107) 92%

Coria made...
- 110 (30 FH, 80 BH), including 5 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 7 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 FH), including 1 runaround FH
- 5 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (110/120) 92%

Break Points
Nadal 7/20 (10 games)
Coria 5/16 (9 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Nadal 26 (16 FH, 2 BH, 3 FHV, 2 BHV, 3 OH)
Coria 33 (19 FH, 7 BH, 4 FHV, 3 BHV)

Nadal's FHs - 1 cc, 8 dtl (2 passes, 1 runaround return, 2 at net), 4 inside-out (1 not clean runaround return), 1 inside-in, 1 lob and 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 dtl pass and 1 running-down-drop-shot cc at net

- 1 from a serve-volley point - a 2nd volley FHV

- 1 BHV was not clean

Coria's FHs - 5 cc (1 slice, 2 passes), 1 cc/longline, 2 dtl (1 pass), 5 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 5 drop shots
- BHs - 1 cc return pass, 3 dtl (1 pass), 1 inside-in return, 1 longline at net and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net

- 1 from a serve-volley point - a 2nd volley FHV

- 2 BHVs were passes from no-man's land and have not been counted as net points

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Nadal 66
- 41 Unforced (26 FH, 15 BH)... with 2 FH at net
- 25 Forced (13 FH, 10 BH, 2 BHV)... with 4 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.3

Coria 83
- 60 Unforced (36 FH, 22 BH, 2 BHV)
- 23 Forced (13 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 2 FH running-down-drop-shot at net, 1 BH at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.5

(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)

(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)

Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 21/42 (50%) at net, including...
- 2/3 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 4/7 (57%) forced back/retreated

Coria was...
- 24/39 (62%) at net, including...
- 3/3 (100%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 0/2 forced back

Match Report
Straight out, who-blinks-first baseline match with regular drop shotting from Coria providing variety. Nadal proves more consistent. His second serve returning is also attacking and gives him an edge on those points

According to commentary, this was the 99th edition of the tournament and only 4 times had the title been defended. Nadal would do so 7 times in the next 7 years

Its good match, despite the numbers

Nadal with 26 winners and 41 UEs looks poor. Throw in Coria's 23 FEs, and he finishes with 49 forcefully won points to 41 UEs.... good numbers, especially in light of how tough it is to force an error out of Coria
Coria 33 winners and 60 UEs looks (and is) even worse. Throw in Nadal's 25 FEs and he finishes with 58 forcefully won points to 60 UEs... again, good numbers for the same reason as Nadal

Plus, the UEs don't come easy on the whole. Both players have spells of yielding UEs relatively easily (relative to the match's standard, which doesn't make it particularly easy). You don't see any spells of either player regularly making UEs in short rallies, let alone missing third balls. Baseline rallies are hard hitting, tough, involve moving-the-other-player around and top drawer movement from both players

Note also UEFI - Nadal 48.3, Coria 47.5... high scores for a match with so many errors and a bit deceptive. Most shots are neutral, but both players make most of them, so UEs are tilted towards attacking shots and winner attempts. In fact, proportion of error types is near identical -

- Neutral - Nadal 46%, Coria 50%
- Attacking - Nadal 24%, Coria 25%
- Winner Attempts - Nadal 29%, Coria 25%

... with Nadal more secure on all shot types - Neutral 14-20, Attacking 10-15, Winner Attempts 12-15

Coria's FH is the least secure shot with match high 36 UEs but also has match high 19 winners
Nadal's BH is the most secure with match low 15 UEs and also has match low 2 winners

Nadal's FH is a bit stronger of power and more varied in directions. Coria's tends to miss routine shots more often than any other shot on show
The reverse on the BH. Coria's dtl shots are stronger and hit closer to lines but not good enough to draw errors out of Nadal too often. Nadal hits hard BHs but in regulation cc or longline fashion

Most important point though is, Nadal's more consistent off both wings

Baseline play is classic, clay court tennis, as opposed to the 'hard court tennis on clay' that has come to be the norm. The point is to keep the ball in play with firm shots, not open court and look for forceful endings. Both players typically play from well behind baseline, not because they're pushed there, but to maximize time to reach balls. Both run like the dickens. Of footspeed, Coria probably has a slight edge, but Nadal's footwork to get around to play FHs is better and by a larger degree. When either player does look to open court and attack, they do so from same behind-baseline position... and both are defensively able to thwart the others offence more often than not. Nadal probably a bit more, because his attacking shots are harder hit than Coria's so he faces less strong attacks, not because his defence is stronger

A key to the match is Nadal's attacking returning against second serves
Note Coria leading first serve points won 63% to 59%. The serve isn't much of a factor... neither have strong ones and both return with fabulous consistency (both have 92% return rates). Nadal probably slightly stronger first serves, so Coria leading first serve points won is a bit surprising

Second serves point though is different story. Nadal wins 55%, Coria a measly 36%. With action similar on all 4 serves, why?

Nadal's returning. Look at the huge 32 runaround FH returns. He does it in both courts. And these aren't the neutral, loopy Nadal runaround FH returns either... he hammers the ball. Coria's usually up to making defensive third ball and pretty soon, neutralizing Nadal's initiative so rallies become just like those on the other 3 serves on show. In that light, 36% makes sense... taking normal rallies as having 50-50 prospects, Nadal being better player so winning a bit more, throwin in 3 Coria doubles and a few points where Nadal's big returns wins him points early or where he commands points

Some discredit to Coria's second serve. He directs it constantly slightly to BH side not far form body. Easy serves to runaround. More credit to Nadal's return though. He blasts the ball, even in deuce court
When situation is reversed, Coria doesn't have that attacking return. Quality of Nadal's second serve is in same ballpark as Coria's, though a bit better... but Coria doesn't have the ability to attack it the way his are. Just 5 runaround FHs returns from Coria. He also sees far fewer second serves with Nadal serving at high 73% first serve in (Coria is 57%)

 

[Waspsting]

Net Play & Coria's drop shots
Rule of thumb for who-blinks-first play is for the less consistent player to be proactive. Coria is quite smart in this area

First, he doesn't rush to do so but waits until it becomes clear that he's less consistent. Nadal > Coria of consistency wouldn't have been a given at all at time of match
Next, he tries hitting harder, moving Nadal around more... moderately attacking stuff. High end stepping into court and hitting into corners is probably outside his comfort zone and unlikely to work for him

Small note about Nadal's game - he is slightly vulnerable to his slightly open FH side. He keeps a position slightly in BH court so has to run more to cover FHs. Attacking this corner would come to be taken as the best way to play Nadal. There are hints of it here, but Coria's groundies aren't strong enough to regularly finish points. He has 5 FH inside-out winners (2 more than Nadal does) but Nadal is mostly up to scrambling to get the ball back. He's up to scrambling to get ball back off the other side too of course... but FH corner is where he seems to be most rushed

Can Coria come to net more? He doesn't look an uncomfortable volleyer, like many clay-courters. But Nadal's groundies are the sort that would give even top net players reason to think twice

Coria goes for drop shots. Lots and lots and lots of drop shots, almost always FH ones, usually inside-out but he's capable of going in other directions. He has 5 winners, forces 4 errors, while Nadal has 3 winners (2 of them regular groundstrokes at net instead of the hitting-up-shot one has to play to good drop shots) and makes 2 UEs. Coria usually follows his drop shots to a position around service line, from where he can intercept anything that comes back in multiple ways

Not many errors going for the shot. And with Nadal playing from behind baseline, its a very good option. Coria's well in the positives on the play and against a very quick and determined Nadal who looks to run down everything

Note the high approach numbers - Nadal with 42, Coria 39. That's mostly about Coria's drop shots and approaches behind drop shots (not all his 'approaches' extend far enough to have been marked net point). These net figures aren't a great reflection of volley vs pass match-up

Actual approaches to volley are fairly rare. Coria looks good up front. Nadal less so. He doesn't place comfortable volleys well or punch them through and looks a typical, clay courter who's uncomfortable on the shot. The exception is the smash... Nadal's as commanding on the OH as anyone you'll see

Just 50% net points won for Nadal. That figure would exclude Coria's drop shots winners and is mostly balls he gets a racquet on, usually at least getting ball in play. So the ploy works for Coria and he turns to it very often. So often that I would have expected it to be a bust... much credit to him for execution

Its not enough though. To make up the consistency slack, he'd need to find more efficient attacking way

Match Progression
Nadal is broken from 40-0 up to start the match, missing some aggressive FHs. Thereafter, pattern of play is established. Lots of long, hard hitting rallies and great scampering. Points almost always end with errors. Initially, the FH makes the bulk for both players, as they move to take as many FHs as they can. Nadal gains the decisive break when Coria's BH breaks down towards end of set

There's a tremendous point when Coria drop shots Nadal in, lob volleys Nadal's get, Nadal makes a back-net-retrieval lob that forces Coria back, Coria makes an over shoulder retrieval that Nadal drop volleys... and Coria finishes by hitting BH running-down-drop-volley winner net-to-net

Having evened match with a break in middle of set, Nadal breaks late, striking 3 successive winners and later, Coria's BH breaking down to leave Nadal serving for set. That serve out takes 14 points and Coria has 3 break points in it

It had been drizzling for much of the match and its genuinely raining during the serve out. Coria isn't happy about playing through the rain. I agree with him... the decision to play on seems to have been made behind the thinking of "well-set-is-almost-done, lets-finish-it-and-then-we'll-see". The score should irrelevant and only factor to consider is whether playing conditions are fit or not and during this game, they aren't

Coria's quite whiney for most of second set. Rain dies down at changeover and the don't go off at all. Nadal continues to outlast him in play, but now there's an element of Coria not having stomach for constant tough rallying involved too. Even so, the 6-1 set isn't too easy. Nadal survives 10 and 12 point holds, saving 4 break points. Seems to just Coria even more, particularly since he's broken to love to both start and end the set

Third set looks like a lapse of concentration from Nadal. He starts making the errors before Coria can and Coria grows in confidence to the tune of hanging in rallies without rattled detour attacking shots that miss. Nadal wins 12 points in the set - just 4 of them on serve

Normal service is resumed in the fourth, with Nadal returning to his 2nd set consistency, which is better than Coria's. He breaks to go up 2-0 and continues to have better of play. He might be tiring and goes for (and misses) more winner attempts than at any other point in the match

Coria breaks back in a nervy game from Nadal to take score to 3-4. And has break point to go up 5-4, but Nadal responds with a wrong footing FH dtl winner, followed by a third ball FH inside-out winner and his sole service winner of the match to hold

Nadal breaks to end the match. a good run-down-drop shot by Nadal leads to a Coria BHV FE. Nadal converts his second break/match point by dispatching a poor drop shot FH dtl at net

Summing up, good, hard fought baseline match. Nadal's attacking runaround FH returns gives him an edge to start and he's the more consistent player from the back. Coria is also solid - both players hit a lot of heavy neutral balls - but Nadal more so. Coria at times gets loose through frustration and lack of stomach for continuous, tough rallying while Nadal seems to have a concentration hiccup for a set

Coria's potential equalizer is his drop shots. He plays them very well, but its not the sort of thing that can override his consistency disadvantage against such a fleet footed opponent

Stats for '05 French Open final between Nadal and Mariano Puerta - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...adal-vs-puerta-french-open-final-2005.651485/
Stats for '06 final between Nadal and Roger Federer - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...dal-vs-federer-monte-carlo-final-2006.644745/

 

[Waspsting]

Nadal beat Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in the Rome final, 2005 on clay

It was Nadal's debut at the event and he would go onto win the next 2 years also. For Coria, this would be his only final at the event

Nadal won 190 points, Coria 188

Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (117/176) 66%
- 1st serve points won (68/117) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (28/59) 47%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/176) 10%

Coria...
- 1st serve percentage (148/202) 73%
- 1st serve points won (85/148) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (23/54) 43%
- Aces 3 (1 not clean)
- Double Faults 7
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (27/202) 13%

Serve Patterns
Nadal served...
- to FH 10%
- to BH 84%
- to Body 6%

Coria served...
- to FH 17%
- to BH 76%
- to Body 7%

Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 168 (62 FH, 106 BH), including 29 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH), a runaround FH
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 16 Unforced (7 FH, 9 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 8 Forced (7 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (168/195) 86%

Coria made...
- 155 (44 FH, 111 BH), including 22 runaround FHs & 2 return-approaches
- 17 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (5 FH, 3 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 9 Forced (1 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (155/173) 90%

Break Points
Nadal 9/20 (12 games)
Coria 9/17 (12 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Nadal 59 (41 FH, 10 BH, 3 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 OH)
Coria 57 (25 FH, 16 BH, 9 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 4 BHV, 2 OH)

Nadal's regular FHs - 4 cc (1 at net), 14 dtl (1 not clean, 1 runaround return, 1 at net), 12 inside-out (1 not clean), 3 inside-in, 1 drop shot 2 running-down-drop-shot at net (1 cc, 1 net chord dribbler)
- regular BHs - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 drop shot and 1 running-down-drop-shot inside-out/longline at net
- FH passes - 3 cc and 2 dtl
- BH passes - 1 cc, 2 dtl and 1 lob

Coria's regular FHs - 2 cc (1 net-to-net), 1 dtl, 6 inside-out, 4 inside-in, 1 longline, 1 longline/cc and 4 drop shots
- regular BHs - 4 cc (2 at net - 1 net-to-net), 3 dtl (2 at net - 1 net-to-net), 1 dtl/inside-out and 1 inside-out at net
- FH passes - 1 cc, 3 dtl and 2 lobs
- BH passes - 3 cc, 3 dtl and 1 longline

7 cc (3 passes, 2 at net - 1 net-to-net), 6 dtl (3 passes - 1 at net, 2 at net - 1 net-to-net), 1 dtl/inside-out, 1 inside-out at net and 1 longline pass

- 3 from serve-volley points - 2 first volleys & 1 second volley - all FHVs
- 1 from return-approach point, a FHV
- 1 OH can reasonably be called a FHV and 1 OH was on the bounce closer to baseline than service line

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Nadal 101
- 70 Unforced (40 FH, 27 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)... with 1 BH at net
- 31 Forced (16 FH, 12 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH, 1 Tweener)... with 2 FH running-down-drop-shot at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.6

Coria 106
- 71 Unforced (41 FH, 24 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 3 OH)... with 1 FH at net, 1 BH at net & 1 non-net FHV
- 35 Forced (21 FH, 12 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 5 FH running-down-drop shot at net, 1 FH at net (a pass attempt) & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.9

(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)

(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)

Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 24/54 (44%) at net, including...
- 0/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated

Coria was...
- 35/67 (52%) at net, including...
- 4/8 (50%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
---
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 3/6 (50%) forced back/retreated

Match Report
Its a cliché to describe a match as one which neither player deserved to lose or its a shame there could only be 1 winner. For this one, its true. As physically brutal a match as there's been. For over 5 hours, the two pound heavy groundies back and forth with nothing in it between the two. Conditions are a bit quicker than Monte Carlo

Using the Monte Carlo match as a frame of reference, baseline rallies are 50-50 here, whereas there, Nadal had been the stronger, more consistent player and Coria had shown a lack of stomach for the fight at times. There Nadal had returned second serves aggressively. Here, he does so neutrally

And the difference between the two players? There is none. Its a flip of a coin tiebreak deal. Who has upper hand in play varies slightly across match (often related to apparent fatigue), but play is pretty even at all times and at none does one player have big advantage over the other

Points won - Nadal 190, Coria 188... not only is thin as you can get, with final set tiebreak ending 8-6, it means going into it, total points were absolutely equal 182-182
Break points - Nadal 9/20, Coria 9/17. With both players having had such points in 12 different games
Points served - Nadal 176, Coria 202 is deceptive if it suggests Coria was struggling to hold more. The figure is entirely due to an outlier, 28 point Coria service game where he's eventually broken. If he'd been broken easier in 6 point game (which from his point of view would be a worse outcome), the figure would be about even... if anything, this figure thus reflects in Coria's favour for having made Nadal work more to get a break

In play, Nadal finishes +2 on winners, + 4 in forcing errors and -1 on UEs (as in, he has fewer) to lead 165-158
Coria leads unreturned rates by 3%... this down to his more consistent returning (Nadal has the slightly stronger serve) and influenced by a brief period when shadows were covering half the court and Nadal misses a few errors. Stats are suggesting Coria erred in his serving direction (more on that later), along common sense but what in time would prove to be, false line of reasoning regarding relative strength of Nadal across wings

Fitness becomes a big factor. By late 4th set, Nadal is visibly tiring and for most of 5th, doesn't look far from being ready to drop. Still runs balls down with enthusiasm, probably better than all but a handful of players could do when fully fresh. Coria doesn't show fatigue to same extent and like Nadal, keeps on running for balls but was almost certainly feeling the strain too. Fortunately for the players, conditions are cool. Its a day-night match and by end, spectators are wrapped up in layers and warm clothes

Serve & Return
Nadal with slightly bigger serve, though neither player has a big one. Relative to Monte Carlo, returning is more challenging

Have a look at Coria's serve direction and Nadal return errors

Coria serves 17% to FH and 76% to BH, yet draws 12 FH errors to 10 BHs (and that's excluding 2 runaround FH errors). The irregularity is amplified when you take just FEs - Nadal has 7 FHs and just 1 BH

However you slice it - by UE, FE, total, counting the 2 runaround FH errors as BHs or excluding them... its very clear that Nadal returned far, far more securely off BH, and its probably not even a stretch to say he was inconsistent with FH returns

Coria serves 33 times to Nadal's FH and 14 don't come back (including 2 aces) or Nadal returning at 57.8% to serves directed at his FH (disregarding body serves). Which is remarkable when you consider he's returned at 86% for the match as a whole

The trade off might be that Nadal's far more damaging off FH return, but that isn't the case. Returns neutrally off both sides, including when running around to hit FHs

Its very unlikely Nadal would miss regulation FH returns regularly were Coria to have directed serves there consistently. Given how much stronger his FH is in play and how strong his runaround FH returning was in Monte Carlo, its also understandable to serve mostly to his BH. Also, majority serving to BH is default pattern in general

Time would reveal that with Nadal, this is usually the case. His BH return is more consistent than his FH (and not much difference in damaging ability). This match is a very good early indicator of that. Serving just 17% in that direction but drawing 55% of return errors from there (excluding the 2 runaround FHs) or 50% (including the 2 runaround FHs as BHs)... about clear cut as you can get

Nadal has the stronger serve and does well to deliver his better, wide ones on important points. Coria returns like a wall regardless. His returns, even when stretched, are flat and more imposing then Nadal's. Can't ask for more than a 90% return rate

 

[Waspsting]

Play - Baseline, Drop Shots & Net
The big change from Monte Carlo is the way Nadal uses his FH. At start of match, he's stepping in and looking to dominate play with it and does a lot of running around his BH. Thereon, he settles down more to more neutral style of play, behind the baseline, but closer to it than in Monte Carlo and still running around to play FHs regularly

Nadal finishes with 41 FH winners to 40 UEs. The only groundstroke on show with a net positive across these two areas
If Nadal's FH is the most destructive shot, Coria's is the most vulnerable and has match high 41 UEs. More than the bare number, which is just 1 more than Nadal's, the errors are sometimes neutral, routine shots to a greater extent than the other groundstrokes in the match

To be clear, Coria's FH is good. General picture of play is tough, long, hard rallies, with plenty of moving around involved and outstanding footspeed from both players, great defence and retrieving. In this light, as tends to be the way in classic clay court play, most points end with UEs. Coria's FH is the least secure of 4 very good groundstrokes between the two players - its not bad by a normal standard

In Monte Carlo, Coria at times didn't have stomach for these gruelling rallies. No such problems here - he hangs and fights and scampers just as intensely as Nadal

Coria again utilizes drop shots and Nadal does so more than in previous match too. Coria's are usually good shot selection while Nadal turns to drop shots when he's tired and looking to shorten points a bit, particularly late 4th set to end of match. The emphasis on 'a bit'... rallies are still essentially of outlasting dynamic, with moving-around-play thrown in. After first set, Nadal doesn't unduly attack with FH, but is on the lookout for openings to

Note Coria's BH numbers. 16 winners (6 more than Nadal), 24 UEs (3 fewer than Nadal) and the second best winner/UE differential shot in match. And that's going up directly against Nadal's FH cc's. 16 winners, 24 UEs on clay for a BH would be a great number for anyone and against anyone... against Nadal raining down FHs, its top notch. If his FH were as consistent as the BH, he'd be comfortably better player. Nadal's FH takes the eye, but Coria's BH is almost as good (given that BHs naturally are less damaging than FHs). His cc shot isn't powerful enough to unduly trouble Nadal's FH defensive shots, but wrong footing shots (both cc and dtl) prove effective

Nadal being slightly stronger hitter and moving Coria around more than the other way round is well reflected in his slight 47.6 - 46.9 UEFI score. Percentage breakdown of UEs -
- Defensive - both 1%
- Neutral - Nadal 45.7%, Coria 49.3%
- Attacking - Nadal 27.1%, Coria 26.8%
- Winner Attempts - Nadal 25.7%, Coria 22.5%

Nadal slightly more consistent reflected in neutral UE advantage. Attacking shots are equal and more often than not, don't lead to point ending because both players are able to defend so well, but Nadal going for more opens up chances for him to go for winners. Off the ground, Nadal is more attacking player. Much of Coria's offence comes through net play, including drop shots

Of movement, same deal as Monte Carlo: Both very, very fast, both sliding perfectly, Nadal a touch better on the late, defensive 'get'. Nadal edging footwork is a function of style and not important. Running around to hit FHs so often, he gets to exhibit it. Coria plays more duel winged game and doesn't need to. His BH is as strong as his FH and it wouldn't help him to

The rate at which Coria goes for drop shots is lower than Monte Carlo match and they are good, change up attacking shots (as opposed to slightly desperate attempts to escape standard rallies). Nadal goes in for them too, particularly late in match

A substantial portion of the two players combined large 121 net points come out of drop shots, with both players using it as an approach shot to boot. Coria is the one to come in more normally to volley. Again, he volleys well. Not sure how often he was in the habit of coming in generally, but there's nothing of the un-natural or uncomfortable volleyer in his form, the way clay courters so often have. In fact, its Nadal who volleys uncomfortably and doesn't place or punch through volleys above net

15 'volley' winners from Coria (counting an OH as a volley... neither description is inaccurate for shot in question) to 2 UEs (discounting a non-net volley error)
Curiously, quality of volleying of two players is reversed on the OH. Coria's not too good, Nadal is almost perfect. 3 UEs on the shot for Coria and 1 winner that barely qualifies as an OH (its not a smash)

Match Progression
Coria gains the first break in an error filled game (majority of points of most games are) to go up 3-2. Nadal breaks back to level at 4-4 in very well played game, finishing with 2 stunning passes - an error forcing running FH dtl and a pushed back, sliding, off-balance BH cc winner. Couple of games later, he breaks again to take the set, hitting a very, very sharply angled FH inside-out winner on set point

Nadal makes it 5 games in a row and has break point to make it 6 to start the second. On it, Coria pulls off a FH lob winner after being forced back from net. Its a tense game for Coria who takes to serve volleying and coming to net... a sign of his inability to hang with Nadal from the back

That changes next game as Coria breaks to go u 2-1 in a game featuring 2 perfect drop shots from him, the second a winner on break point. After Nadal breaks back for 3-3, Coria reels off 3 games in a row, including 2 breaks to finish the set. There's an issue with half the court being covered in shadow during this period and serves coming out of or going into shadow from light and Nadal has the worst of it in returning. More confident hitting from Coria then in first set and lots of effective, wrong footing shots

Play shifts to more who-blinks-first, rather than Nadal looking to dictate from 3rd set onward. Nadal races to 4-0 lead, with Coria getting outlasted from the back. Coria pulls one break back but is broken again in an extremely gruelling 28 point game to end the set. Nadal by contrast, serves 23 points in the whole set

Coria breaks to start the 4th set. On break point, for the first time in the match (and one of the only times), Nadal doesn't try to run down a drop shot. Strange how he'd fight tooth and nail for 28 points to break to take the last set while up a break but not do so to hold serve to start another set

Nadal in particular shows signs of tiredness as set wears on. He takes a medical time out for a blister on his playing hand. Movement from both players is a bit slower and both have lapses on routine returns. The momentum is with Coria as he takes the set, with Nadal not looking like he has much left in the tank

The decider starts alone those lines. Coria breaks to 30 twice while holding a 12 point game to lead 3-0. Nadal hits back to level at 3-3. Play remains high quality but a little different. Nadal in particular isn't hitting as hard as he had earlier, both players go in for more drop shots, forays to net, more attacking returns etc. Still, the flavour of play remains outlasting of nature and both players continue to retrieve and run down balls outstandingly

Coria has break point at 4-4, erased by a bold drop shot + BH dtl pass combo from Nadal. Nadal has break and match point at 6-5 erased by overpowering play from Coria and match is decided by tiebreak. Neither player seems to be sure if there will be a tiebreak or if match is to be played to advantage

Nadal is always ahead in 'breaker, opening up a 5-1 lead and Coria never has a match point. Nadal misses his first two - the first to an attempted winner return, the second to a double fault. He converts his third with Coria hitting a BHV long

Summing up, a terrific match of hard hitting, moving-around baseline play with plenty of drop shots and resultant net play thrown in. Nadal somewhat looks to boss play with his FH beyond normal who-blinks-first play while Coria uses drop shots and wrong footing groundies. The base of the match though is consistency and first class defence. The defence is rather better than the offence and finishing points against either running and retrieving is a tall order

Beyond play, both players demonstrate great mental strength - Nadal plays through obvious physical strain near the end and Coria grits to stay even from the back of the court against a slightly stronger hitter

Outstanding performance from both. Nothing in it in the result - Nadal plays the better tiebreak to get the win

Stats for the '06 final between Nadal and Roger Federer - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...port-nadal-vs-federer-rome-final-2006.644812/

 

[Third Serve]

Phenomenadal match

 

[duaneeo]

Consecutive 5-set epic Rome finals by Nadal.

 

[Meles]

Coria in heavy decine with yips in 2005

 

[Third Serve]

Coria in heavy decine with yips in 2005

Doesn’t in any way denigrate the epicness of the match. You have seen it, I presume?

 

[MichaelNadal]

When Nadal became epic

 

[Meles]

Doesn’t in any way denigrate the epicness of the match. You have seen it, I presume?

Yes I have; in my opinion coria should’ve been hitting his peak years at that time but instead was in decline at age 23. Might’ve been a fantastic few years on clay and given Federer opportunities if coria picked off Nadal for him.

 

[ForehandCross]

GOAT MATCH.

 

[mindmaster]

Best match ever if you are a fan of clay court tennis. When I saw that match as a kid I thought Nadal was not tired even at last set tiebreak, but now when I watched that match I can see he was clearly tired in last set, but he was able to overcome that fatigue because of his great mental strength and fighting spirit. I think Nadal was back then at his best physical condition of his whole career. Running down everything and playing more defensive play than following years. I think in 2006 he started to play slightly more attacking game and was slower than year before. In 2007 he again started to play more attacking game and would have continued his undefeated streak if he didn't play that Hamburg final when he was dead tired. Allready he was super tired in Hewitt match and Hewitt almost was the guy who broke Nadal's 81 match winning streak on clay! Hewitt would have deserved that feat more than Federer as Hewitt made sure that Nadal would be now easy to beat by playing so physical 3 set match with Nadal who could only in that moment fight one more win by his willpower, and he was able to do it in very physical match. Federer would in same situation give a wo like he allways does if he is even a little bit tired in other than grand slam tournaments. That's why Nadal is such a champion and great role model unlike Federer who avoids situations where he is not a favourite to win a match. Nadal is not afraid of losing, he loves to fight and loves challenges more than Federer. Same with Hewitt who also loves competing and challenges and allways gives his all no matter who he is playing. Nadal is so humble that didn't even blame his tiredness for streak ending match. Federer took credit for ending a streak which was not belonging to anybody. If he had Federer's mind he would have been undefeated on clay from 2005 to 2011. Djokovic was the first player in 2011 to beat healthy Rafa on clay. But back to the match this was the longest masters final ever and produced much better rallies than following year match. Nadal was serving fastly on 2005 unlike in 2006, where his timeplay takes at least 30 minutes out from the match time. And in this final the actual play was about 50 minutes and in following year final at most 30 minutes, so this was much better than 2006 final unless you like to read paper while watching matches.

 

[Waspsting]

Best match ever if you are a fan of clay court tennis.

I agree (and I'm not particularly a fan of clay court tennis)
This is to clay what the '90 Wimby final is to classic serve-volley

Could you give a few other picks for high-end, clay court matches?

...he would have been undefeated on clay from 2005 to 2011.

Taking you literally, there was also a loss to Ferrero in Rome '08

Would love to see that one. By '08, Ferrero was just another player and without watching, I'd think his beating Nadal would be just a 'you can't win 'em all' thing. But that's quite a coincidence for that one, law of averages blip to just happen to have come against a former, particularly proficient clay courter

 

[Phenomenal]

One of the greatest enjoyment i ever got from a tennis match. Every point is a struggle. Nadal's mental strength off the charts Coria's too actually. Pure classic clay court match. More similiar to older clay court maches i believe.

Is this the match that Nadal hit most FH winners ever? Can anyone confirm @Waspsting?
41 freaking FH winners. Nadal was not hitting only his buggy forehand he was crushing the ball from the baseline with almost straight flat hitting.

Best match ever if you are a fan of clay court tennis. When I saw that match as a kid I thought Nadal was not tired even at last set tiebreak, but now when I watched that match I can see he was clearly tired in last set, but he was able to overcome that fatigue because of his great mental strength and fighting spirit. I think Nadal was back then at his best physical condition of his whole career. Running down everything and playing more defensive play than following years. I think in 2006 he started to play slightly more attacking game and was slower than year before. In 2007 he again started to play more attacking game and would have continued his undefeated streak if he didn't play that Hamburg final when he was dead tired. Allready he was super tired in Hewitt match and Hewitt almost was the guy who broke Nadal's 81 match winning streak on clay! Hewitt would have deserved that feat more than Federer as Hewitt made sure that Nadal would be now easy to beat by playing so physical 3 set match with Nadal who could only in that moment fight one more win by his willpower, and he was able to do it in very physical match. Federer would in same situation give a wo like he allways does if he is even a little bit tired in other than grand slam tournaments. That's why Nadal is such a champion and great role model unlike Federer who avoids situations where he is not a favourite to win a match. Nadal is not afraid of losing, he loves to fight and loves challenges more than Federer. Same with Hewitt who also loves competing and challenges and allways gives his all no matter who he is playing. Nadal is so humble that didn't even blame his tiredness for streak ending match. Federer took credit for ending a streak which was not belonging to anybody. If he had Federer's mind he would have been undefeated on clay from 2005 to 2011. Djokovic was the first player in 2011 to beat healthy Rafa on clay. But back to the match this was the longest masters final ever and produced much better rallies than following year match. Nadal was serving fastly on 2005 unlike in 2006, where his timeplay takes at least 30 minutes out from the match time. And in this final the actual play was about 50 minutes and in following year final at most 30 minutes, so this was much better than 2006 final unless you like to read paper while watching matches.

I agree. I enjoy this much more than 2006 final. Although Federer's style is different thats why points end shorter. Federer played in his own terms the 2006 final.
Nadal was much more agressive here in 2005 final.