What are Nadal's best FH matches?

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NatF said:
The SF was maybe even better, after a crap season he flipped the switch that match on the forehand side. Peak forehanding, brutal stuff.
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True, but Murray was pretty bad in 2014 due to injuries and barely qualified for the YEC IIRC. He might have made it look better than it was. Still RAFA turned it up when he needed to. The last time he was able to do that was the 2020 RG F. I hope it’s not the last.
 
I feel an underrated one is the 2013 RG final against Ferrer. In a very short match he hit 22 FH winners.

He basically played the aggression level of his final set of the 2013 semifinal for 3 straight sets.

On a FH winner per game basis I’m not sure Rafa was ever this aggressive off the FH wing over a full match. And Ferrer while not elite competition had good defense.
 
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I think the post-2011 Djokovic matches where Nadal had to push his forehand to the absolute limit of the aggression he is capable of (and did it successfully) are the best.

Defensively it has to be a 2008 clay match where he hitting monster passing shots constantly.

On grass, I think the best I saw him was 2018 Wimbledon where he was absolutely destroying neutral balls from all over the court and was very unlucky not to win the tournament.
 
Blahovic said:
I think the post-2011 Djokovic matches where Nadal had to push his forehand to the absolute limit of the aggression he is capable of (and did it successfully) are the best.

Defensively it has to be a 2008 clay match where he hitting monster passing shots constantly.

On grass, I think the best I saw him was 2018 Wimbledon where he was absolutely destroying neutral balls from all over the court and was very unlucky not to win the tournament.
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Why do you even post?
 
I think Rafa's FH was at its apex in 2010, though 2008 on clay was pretty epic.

I always liked what Roger said when asked who had the greatest FH that he's face:

"I mean, I think Rafa's for me is maybe number one. It depends on what surface we're talking about. But just throughout the career, I think Rafa's is extremely high, if not my favorite one."
 
aldeayeah said:
As far as Oldal goes, 2017 RG final. He was unplayable.
Click to expand...

I was about to say U jokers are so loath to give Novak and NextGen any credit you forgot/ignored this obvious choice. Yes, good call. This British bud of mine, who usually knows his tennis, was going gaga over Stanimal's run at the time and telling our e-gang (well, only 3 of us but who's counting) that he had a real shot at his 2nd FO, and I had to throw cold water on his crystal ball cuz I knew there was zero chance Nadal is losing this one to anyone not named Borg (and, less probably, '93 Bruguera or GOATing Kuerten). And Stan didn't play bad at all! (FYI his 57.9% of GW at '17 RG is roughly comparable to '09 Fed's 58.4%.)

In fact there are only four CC seasons where Rafa won over 65% of his games and peaked at the right time to top 70% at RG. Here they are:

2008 - 67.8%, 75.7%
2012 - 68.2%, 71.0%
2017 - 67.9%, 76.8% (3rd in the OE only to Borg's 79.9% at '78 RG and fractionally higher 76.8% at '80 RG)
2020* - 69.0%, 70.9%

*Asterisked because of the brevity of the pandemic season - like I said Rafa peaks for the biggies especially in his later years, which naturally boosted the "seasonal" % - and also because it's clear to me his FH had lost some sting (though, TBF, some of that has to do with the unusually chilly October weather at RG).

Unsurprisingly '08, '17 and '20 happen to be 3 of the 4 seasons where he conquered RG without dropping a set (along with '10, but he won "only" 64.5% for the final fortnight despite a seasonal 66.6%). As you can see this 65%-70% twofer is a rare milestone even for Nadal, 67%-75% still more so - which is why I keep telling the Fedovic posse that their boy(s) would do well to take a set off '17 Rafa, with predictable responses.

And seriously try putting on an objective pair of glasses for once and compare the '08 SF vs. Novak...


With this (there are longer highlight reels but I'm posting the official one due to RG's rather diligent "anti-piracy" crackdown):


If you still think that Youngdal was hitting his FH so much better you're just fooling yourself. Oldal might have lost half a step, yes, but as Stan rued after the match Rafa was now playing closer to the baseline, with his increasingly Tysonified punch-outs a la Courier to put even more pressure on his hapless opponents. On paper you could try to counter it by taking the ball earlier, but against that extra power and spin? A lot easier said than done, in fact virtually impossible for anyone without Borg's sui generis skill set or Sergi's equally crazy RPM and deerlike (per Sampras) movement, or a physical freak like Guga with his height and big serve/groundies to boot. I suspect even Lendl or Courier with his more standard height and mobility would struggle, though Wilander could better acquit himself by playing Panatta to Nadal. (Mac could theoretically do the same - contrary to the usual talking point about Rafa passing everyone at will, rushing the net against him has proven quite successful for both Fed and Novak, yes even on clay - but as we saw in the '84 final he likely wouldn't be able to keep it up for 5 sets while Mats could.)

If Nadal wasn't at his dirtballing best in '17 he was damn close. To think Fed or Nole could notch a W vs. '06 or '13 Rafa at RG is one thing (though neither did when it counted), but against this version? Might as well hand Rafa a YEC vs. peak Fed/Novak, too.

That said....

MichaelNadal said:
It was quite ridiculous. And in an epic kit! ;)

nadal-reuters-m2.jpg
Click to expand...

This was Gitmo for my eyes, really. His best at RG remains the '08 pirate kit. I dig some of his USO outfits too, but they're on the conservative side which doesn't suit your boy as well.
 
NonP said:
I was about to say U jokers are so loath to give Novak and NextGen any credit you forgot/ignored this obvious choice. Yes, good call. This British bud of mine, who usually knows his tennis, was going gaga over Stanimal's run at the time and telling our e-gang (well, only 3 of us but who's counting) that he had a real shot at his 2nd FO, and I had to throw cold water on his crystal ball cuz I knew there was zero chance Nadal is losing this one to anyone not named Borg (and, less probably, '93 Bruguera or GOATing Kuerten). And Stan didn't play bad at all! (FYI his 57.9% of GW at '17 RG is roughly comparable to '09 Fed's 58.4%.)

In fact there are only four CC seasons where Rafa won over 65% of his games and peaked at the right time to top 70% at RG. Here they are:

2008 - 67.8%, 75.7%
2012 - 68.2%, 71.0%
2017 - 67.9%, 76.8% (3rd in the OE only to Borg's 79.9% at '78 RG and fractionally higher 76.8% at '80 RG)
2020* - 69.0%, 70.9%

*Asterisked because of the brevity of the pandemic season - like I said Rafa peaks for the biggies especially in his later years, which naturally boosted the "seasonal" % - and also because it's clear to me his FH had lost some sting (though, TBF, some of that has to do with the unusually chilly October weather at RG).

Unsurprisingly '08, '17 and '20 happen to be 3 of the 4 seasons where he conquered RG without dropping a set (along with '10, but he won "only" 64.5% for the final fortnight despite a seasonal 66.6%). As you can see this 65%-70% twofer is a rare milestone even for Nadal, 67%-75% still more so - which is why I keep telling the Fedovic posse that their boy(s) would do well to take a set off '17 Rafa, with predictable responses.

And seriously try putting on an objective pair of glasses for once and compare the '08 SF vs. Novak...


With this (there are longer highlight reels but I'm posting the official one due to RG's rather diligent "anti-piracy" crackdown):


If you still think that Youngdal was hitting his FH so much better you're just fooling yourself. Oldal might have lost half a step, yes, but as Stan rued after the match Rafa was now playing closer to the baseline, with his increasingly Tysonified punch-outs a la Courier to put even more pressure on his hapless opponents. On paper you could try to counter it by taking the ball earlier, but against that extra power and spin? A lot easier said than done, in fact virtually impossible for anyone without Borg's sui generis skill set or Sergi's equally crazy RPM and deerlike (per Sampras) movement, or a physical freak like Guga with his height and big serve/groundies to boot. I suspect even Lendl or Courier with his more standard height and mobility would struggle, though Wilander could better acquit himself by playing Panatta to Nadal. (Mac could theoretically do the same - contrary to the usual talking point about Rafa passing everyone at will, rushing the net against him has proven quite successful for both Fed and Novak, yes even on clay - but as we saw in the '84 final he likely wouldn't be able to keep it up for 5 sets while Mats could.)

If Nadal wasn't at his dirtballing best in '17 he was damn close. To think Fed or Nole could notch a W vs. '06 or '13 Rafa at RG is one thing (though neither did when it counted), but against this version? Might as well hand Rafa a YEC vs. peak Fed/Novak, too.

That said....



This was Gitmo for my eyes, really. His best at RG remains the '08 pirate kit. I dig some of his USO outfits too, but they're on the conservative side which doesn't suit your boy as well.
Click to expand...

The 08 kit is the GOATkit :D
 
2010 US Open F (I still think this is Nadal's best HC match ever played)
2013 French Open SF (his FH in that 5th set was just insane)
2013 US Open F (that FH DTL he unleashed when he had set point to win the 3rd set, and then the FH DTL winner he hit to break Djokovic in his 1st service game of the 4th set sealed the match for him)
2014 French Open F (from 2nd set onwards, Djokovic stood no chance)

Nadal really needs his FH DTL to be firing on all cylinders to stand the best chance to beat a decent Djokovic
 
2012 RG see what he did to Monaco, Ferrer. One of the most scariest version of Nadal. 2014 RG is good choice aswell very agressive with the FH. USO 2010, 07-08 Wimbledon, 10 too. AO 12 the great ones.

 
One not yet mentioned (it hadn't happened when this thread was made) is the 2022 Aussie final. No serve or movement to speak of, just a forehand. Tennis abstract has him at 41 winners and 31 unforced off that side, which are numbers the likes of which you will rarely see anywhere but grass.
 
There were a few times were his forehand went fully nuclear. Two most memorable for me were RG 2013 vs Novak 5th set after going a break down and RG 2014 vs Ferrer 3rd and 4th set. Ferrer RG 2012 was crazy too come to think about it.
 
Actually Nadal's forehand is so good for so long it's hard to choose. Any slam he goes deep. Such a consistent weapon.
 
NonP said:
I was about to say U jokers are so loath to give Novak and NextGen any credit you forgot/ignored this obvious choice. Yes, good call. This British bud of mine, who usually knows his tennis, was going gaga over Stanimal's run at the time and telling our e-gang (well, only 3 of us but who's counting) that he had a real shot at his 2nd FO, and I had to throw cold water on his crystal ball cuz I knew there was zero chance Nadal is losing this one to anyone not named Borg (and, less probably, '93 Bruguera or GOATing Kuerten). And Stan didn't play bad at all! (FYI his 57.9% of GW at '17 RG is roughly comparable to '09 Fed's 58.4%.)

In fact there are only four CC seasons where Rafa won over 65% of his games and peaked at the right time to top 70% at RG. Here they are:

2008 - 67.8%, 75.7%
2012 - 68.2%, 71.0%
2017 - 67.9%, 76.8% (3rd in the OE only to Borg's 79.9% at '78 RG and fractionally higher 76.8% at '80 RG)
2020* - 69.0%, 70.9%

*Asterisked because of the brevity of the pandemic season - like I said Rafa peaks for the biggies especially in his later years, which naturally boosted the "seasonal" % - and also because it's clear to me his FH had lost some sting (though, TBF, some of that has to do with the unusually chilly October weather at RG).

Unsurprisingly '08, '17 and '20 happen to be 3 of the 4 seasons where he conquered RG without dropping a set (along with '10, but he won "only" 64.5% for the final fortnight despite a seasonal 66.6%). As you can see this 65%-70% twofer is a rare milestone even for Nadal, 67%-75% still more so - which is why I keep telling the Fedovic posse that their boy(s) would do well to take a set off '17 Rafa, with predictable responses.

And seriously try putting on an objective pair of glasses for once and compare the '08 SF vs. Novak...


With this (there are longer highlight reels but I'm posting the official one due to RG's rather diligent "anti-piracy" crackdown):


If you still think that Youngdal was hitting his FH so much better you're just fooling yourself. Oldal might have lost half a step, yes, but as Stan rued after the match Rafa was now playing closer to the baseline, with his increasingly Tysonified punch-outs a la Courier to put even more pressure on his hapless opponents. On paper you could try to counter it by taking the ball earlier, but against that extra power and spin? A lot easier said than done, in fact virtually impossible for anyone without Borg's sui generis skill set or Sergi's equally crazy RPM and deerlike (per Sampras) movement, or a physical freak like Guga with his height and big serve/groundies to boot. I suspect even Lendl or Courier with his more standard height and mobility would struggle, though Wilander could better acquit himself by playing Panatta to Nadal. (Mac could theoretically do the same - contrary to the usual talking point about Rafa passing everyone at will, rushing the net against him has proven quite successful for both Fed and Novak, yes even on clay - but as we saw in the '84 final he likely wouldn't be able to keep it up for 5 sets while Mats could.)

If Nadal wasn't at his dirtballing best in '17 he was damn close. To think Fed or Nole could notch a W vs. '06 or '13 Rafa at RG is one thing (though neither did when it counted), but against this version? Might as well hand Rafa a YEC vs. peak Fed/Novak, too.

That said....



This was Gitmo for my eyes, really. His best at RG remains the '08 pirate kit. I dig some of his USO outfits too, but they're on the conservative side which doesn't suit your boy as well.
Click to expand...
NonP doesn't very often but like his deep dives on Nadal's exploits at RG
 

From his best FH year… I’ve seen him hit heavy FHs, I’ve seen him hit FHs with pace and I’ve seen him hit FHs with ridiculous spin… but I’m not sure he ever did all 3 together as much as he did in this match. These are landing at 80+ mph a foot from the baseline and jumping up to head height on hard court. An object lesson in what happens when you don’t put pressure on his FH… any remotely neutral ball was getting absolutely destroyed
 
NonP said:
I was about to say U jokers are so loath to give Novak and NextGen any credit you forgot/ignored this obvious choice. Yes, good call. This British bud of mine, who usually knows his tennis, was going gaga over Stanimal's run at the time and telling our e-gang (well, only 3 of us but who's counting) that he had a real shot at his 2nd FO, and I had to throw cold water on his crystal ball cuz I knew there was zero chance Nadal is losing this one to anyone not named Borg (and, less probably, '93 Bruguera or GOATing Kuerten). And Stan didn't play bad at all! (FYI his 57.9% of GW at '17 RG is roughly comparable to '09 Fed's 58.4%.)

In fact there are only four CC seasons where Rafa won over 65% of his games and peaked at the right time to top 70% at RG. Here they are:

2008 - 67.8%, 75.7%
2012 - 68.2%, 71.0%
2017 - 67.9%, 76.8% (3rd in the OE only to Borg's 79.9% at '78 RG and fractionally higher 76.8% at '80 RG)
2020* - 69.0%, 70.9%

*Asterisked because of the brevity of the pandemic season - like I said Rafa peaks for the biggies especially in his later years, which naturally boosted the "seasonal" % - and also because it's clear to me his FH had lost some sting (though, TBF, some of that has to do with the unusually chilly October weather at RG).

Unsurprisingly '08, '17 and '20 happen to be 3 of the 4 seasons where he conquered RG without dropping a set (along with '10, but he won "only" 64.5% for the final fortnight despite a seasonal 66.6%). As you can see this 65%-70% twofer is a rare milestone even for Nadal, 67%-75% still more so - which is why I keep telling the Fedovic posse that their boy(s) would do well to take a set off '17 Rafa, with predictable responses.

And seriously try putting on an objective pair of glasses for once and compare the '08 SF vs. Novak...


With this (there are longer highlight reels but I'm posting the official one due to RG's rather diligent "anti-piracy" crackdown):


If you still think that Youngdal was hitting his FH so much better you're just fooling yourself. Oldal might have lost half a step, yes, but as Stan rued after the match Rafa was now playing closer to the baseline, with his increasingly Tysonified punch-outs a la Courier to put even more pressure on his hapless opponents. On paper you could try to counter it by taking the ball earlier, but against that extra power and spin? A lot easier said than done, in fact virtually impossible for anyone without Borg's sui generis skill set or Sergi's equally crazy RPM and deerlike (per Sampras) movement, or a physical freak like Guga with his height and big serve/groundies to boot. I suspect even Lendl or Courier with his more standard height and mobility would struggle, though Wilander could better acquit himself by playing Panatta to Nadal. (Mac could theoretically do the same - contrary to the usual talking point about Rafa passing everyone at will, rushing the net against him has proven quite successful for both Fed and Novak, yes even on clay - but as we saw in the '84 final he likely wouldn't be able to keep it up for 5 sets while Mats could.)

If Nadal wasn't at his dirtballing best in '17 he was damn close. To think Fed or Nole could notch a W vs. '06 or '13 Rafa at RG is one thing (though neither did when it counted), but against this version? Might as well hand Rafa a YEC vs. peak Fed/Novak, too.

That said....



This was Gitmo for my eyes, really. His best at RG remains the '08 pirate kit. I dig some of his USO outfits too, but they're on the conservative side which doesn't suit your boy as well.
Click to expand...

Great post
 
jl809 said:

From his best FH year… I’ve seen him hit heavy FHs, I’ve seen him hit FHs with pace and I’ve seen him hit FHs with ridiculous spin… but I’m not sure he ever did all 3 together as much as he did in this match. These are landing at 80+ mph a foot from the baseline and jumping up to head height on hard court. An object lesson in what happens when you don’t put pressure on his FH… any remotely neutral ball was getting absolutely destroyed
Click to expand...
Preparing for Fed :p
 
2013 USO F and 2018 W SF for me.

I know he lost 2018 W SF but it was because Djokovic targeted his backhand most of the time
 
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