It is funny when thinking about it, but I'm starting to think that clay actually hurts Nadal more in his match-up against Djokovic than it does help. I think mainly it is because Nadal can't really penetrate through the court as well as he does on the HCs, and his backhand becomes an even BIGGER liability here on the clay than it does on HCs.
During the IW and Miami finals, Nadal was at least able to use Djokovic's pace against him at times with his backhand. He was also able to penetrate the court much better with his first serve and forehand, which allowed him to take control of some rallies. It seems like in both Rome and Madrid, I felt like Nadal simply could not take control of the rally even when he wanted to.
So the question is, does clay actually hurt Nadal when facing Novak Djokovic in particular or not? To me, I believe it actually does. Nadal seemingly is unable to really take control of any rallies, and his relative weaknesses (his backhand and 2nd serve) are magnified greatly on clay when facing Djokovic in particular.
During the IW and Miami finals, Nadal was at least able to use Djokovic's pace against him at times with his backhand. He was also able to penetrate the court much better with his first serve and forehand, which allowed him to take control of some rallies. It seems like in both Rome and Madrid, I felt like Nadal simply could not take control of the rally even when he wanted to.
So the question is, does clay actually hurt Nadal when facing Novak Djokovic in particular or not? To me, I believe it actually does. Nadal seemingly is unable to really take control of any rallies, and his relative weaknesses (his backhand and 2nd serve) are magnified greatly on clay when facing Djokovic in particular.