Thread title says it all really. After re-watching last years match between Del Potro and Nadal, i really am not convinced that Del Potro will be to Nadal what Nadal is to Federer ie his achilles heel. Sure, Nadal may have lost that match 6-2 6-2 6-2, but some of the rallys and winners that he hit in that match was classic Rafa stuff. He just wasnt able to do it consistently and on the important moments, and fair play to Del Potro for that level of play.
However, it's common knowledge that Nadal's form in the latter part of '09 wasnt his best. I'm really not interested in whether it was his parents divorce, his abdominal tear, his knees or anything. That's not the point. The point is if you were to compare Nadal in 09 and 10, it's pretty obvious his level in 09 was like 75-80% of 10. But even at 75-80% (to me at least), he was still winning some awesome rallys against Del Potro. With that in mind, i'd think that if the Nadal that won against the US Open were to face Del Potro at 100%, i'd fancy his chances of winning maybe in 4 or 5 sets.
I see a lot of people having the opinion that Del Potro would crush Nadal on a hard court the subsequent times they meet, but these people are forgetting that the game of tennis is played by two players. Your level of play is somewhat determined by your opponents level of play. Relating to Del Potro vs Nadal, it's easy for Del Potro to crush those mid court sitters that Nadal was offering him in that semi final match. But would a 100% Rafa offer him that many sitters in one match? On the important points? Looking at this year's US Open, i'd think that Nadal is no longer looking to play his clay forehand on the hardcourts. He's making his opponent hit on the run so that their shots would carry less pace which allows him to time them better. And i expect that strategy to be employed against Del Potro with some success, considering that even Djokovic (who is one of the best movers today) had trouble running down Nadal's flatter forehands.
Of course, i'm not saying that Nadal will come out on top everytime these two meet, but to say that Del Potro will "crush" Nadal in future is irrational in every sense of the word. And i really do hope that these two meet more in future. At their best both of them could potentially give us Wimby'08 esque matches.
However, it's common knowledge that Nadal's form in the latter part of '09 wasnt his best. I'm really not interested in whether it was his parents divorce, his abdominal tear, his knees or anything. That's not the point. The point is if you were to compare Nadal in 09 and 10, it's pretty obvious his level in 09 was like 75-80% of 10. But even at 75-80% (to me at least), he was still winning some awesome rallys against Del Potro. With that in mind, i'd think that if the Nadal that won against the US Open were to face Del Potro at 100%, i'd fancy his chances of winning maybe in 4 or 5 sets.
I see a lot of people having the opinion that Del Potro would crush Nadal on a hard court the subsequent times they meet, but these people are forgetting that the game of tennis is played by two players. Your level of play is somewhat determined by your opponents level of play. Relating to Del Potro vs Nadal, it's easy for Del Potro to crush those mid court sitters that Nadal was offering him in that semi final match. But would a 100% Rafa offer him that many sitters in one match? On the important points? Looking at this year's US Open, i'd think that Nadal is no longer looking to play his clay forehand on the hardcourts. He's making his opponent hit on the run so that their shots would carry less pace which allows him to time them better. And i expect that strategy to be employed against Del Potro with some success, considering that even Djokovic (who is one of the best movers today) had trouble running down Nadal's flatter forehands.
Of course, i'm not saying that Nadal will come out on top everytime these two meet, but to say that Del Potro will "crush" Nadal in future is irrational in every sense of the word. And i really do hope that these two meet more in future. At their best both of them could potentially give us Wimby'08 esque matches.
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