well, i was impressed with the way he hit it, even at the end of such a long match. i'm not sure if he's made changes or if it's just mental . . . but he used to settle for slicing a lot, which really put him on the back foot a lot against the better guys. i was surprised he was taking rips at the ball, even during crunch time. it was quite a match.
i'll be interested to see if he brings that same fearlessness to the next match. nadal has pretty much had his number. maybe last night was just a fluke.
I have always seen him hit some good backhands per match. He has a huge setup for that stroke and that is why he often slices.
When he is on, he is good for a few backhand winners, when he is off he misses them.
His success in the match against Nadal will depend on whether he is in the zone or not. And even than, I don't think he stands much of a chance. His slices (of which he is bound to hit a heap) often float too much.
His backhand will be under attack and not with balls he can pound away but with high bouncing heavy balls, a nightmare for any OHBH. Nadal can even break Gasquet's backhand down. I have seen him do it. It's not only Fed who has troubles against him.
Nadal also seems to have a new attitude in keeping the points shorter and I have also observed he goes for the inside out a lot more, so he is not only targeting the BH side anymore. The ability of Nadal to hit good inside outs is going to keep Gonzalez honest in not leaning over too much towards his backhand side, so he won't be able to run around his backhand all the time.
All in all, Gonzo is going to have a difficult time against Nadal.
