What makes Nadal so good?

[sandy mayer]

I've only seen Nadal play a few times so don't know his game very well. I know he makes very few mistakes and is a great athlete. But that by itself doesn't make anyone world no.2 and Federer threat. So what is it in his game that makes him so good?

 

[wyutani]

a lefty, clay court specialist....alot of money...wicked topspin...cool babolat racquet...long hair...lolz

 

[bismark]

That capri pants of his!

 

[Queensryche]

Combination of factors.

- Lefty (not THAT big a deal as groundstrokes effects are minimal and pros will get used to spin over period of time. Doesnt use this advantage to full effect given his mediocre service based on pro standard , EXTREMELY high serve % though)

- Superb anticipation + quickfooted.

- Exceptional spin production of both wings.

and the biggest strength of his...

His insane mental strength/focus/sharpness/will

On a day to day(match to match basis) , his mental focus and drive surpasses everyone in the world including Federer.

His mental fortitude is what makes him able to do everything , since confidence is a by-product of such mental strength , which we all know is the backbone of good stroke productions and thinking under pressure.

 

[superman1]

His athleticism is unparalleled, and he's the most competitive guy on the circuit. He wants to win every single point and he has the powerful and perfectly placed shots to do so. He's like a star soccer player that is also lethal with a tennis racquet. Federer has this beautiful game and on the other side of the court you've got this sprinting muscle man smacking everything back and completely taking Federer out of his comfort zone.

 

[FedererUberAlles]

It's the ass grabbing.

 

[wyutani]

It's the ass grabbing.

ass what? *confused*

 

[tennisjoe]

nadals so good because hes hungary to be the best

 

[bluegrasser]

Numero Uno, his mental makeup, in other words " you can't beat me, and for you to give me a match , you'll have to spill your guts on the floor." sort of like Connors. 2) his physical skills, he'll run all day with you and he hits the snot out of the ball.

 

[coolblue123]

I just hope we have as great of a final in the upcoming French Open as the one yesterday. What are the chances that Fed and Nad will be seeded #1 and #2 again? And would it be surprising, given Nad's clay experience, to be seeded #1?

 

[chiru]

i donno if Rafa will be seeded one over fed. rarely do the seeds makeup for such a big difference in pts between rafa and fed, even if rafa is the better clay courter. i think any GS is hard pressed to give their no.1 seed to other than the worlds no. 1. either way, nadal and fed wont be meeitng til the final if at all, thats for certain.

 

[!Tym]

He combines the best qualities of Muster and Bruguera into one ultimate moose. Now if you also gave him the best qualities of Kuerten and Agassi? Then, it would no longer be fair, to Roger included. Forget "all-court," "coming into the net" (what is that, for pansies?), you'd have the ultimate indestructible force from the baseline the no one in a million years would be able to stop on any surface as yet invented by mankind. Simple as that.

 

[spam]

He combines the best qualities of Muster and Bruguera into one ultimate moose. Now if you also gave him the best qualities of Kuerten and Agassi? Then, it would no longer be fair, to Roger included. Forget "all-court," "coming into the net" (what is that, for pansies?), you'd have the ultimate indestructible force from the baseline the no one in a million years would be able to stop on any surface as yet invented by mankind. Simple as that.

Yep Muster is the guy he reminds me most of,wins the same way too,barrage of huge topspin that just wears the other guy down.Unfortunately ,even though he's great for the game and court/smart mentally tough beyond his years,I think he'll wear out due to his lack of serve and the sheer blood and guts type game he plays.Also think he,ll always suffer on fast surfaces due to extreme grips ,big swings all the usual reasons Spaniards dont do quite as well on surfaces other than clay.He'll keep Federer sharp too and give him focus and be a real rival to aim at.Federer will work him out on hard court eventually Im sure.IMO needs to crank his serve ,spank his forehand ,come in where poss and blow him off court-Im sure thats what Sampras would do-on hard or grass that is.Its like Roger refuses to believe anyone can out -rally him from the baseline,but when he beat Nadal he took the net whenever he got the chance or at least played smart enough to get up the court and control the point .Anyways he needs to play smart tennis ,mix it up and really tee off on the Nadal second serve a la Blake.Too often yesterday he played the backhand return short ,he was very predictable which aint something you can usually say about him,I know easier said than done but he's got the tools to do it.
Nadal hasnt played Safin or Nalbandian on the tour yet-could be 2 very interesting matchups.

 

[Kalin]

Tym,

This is probably the first time ever that I have to disagree with you If we are really allowed to dr.frankenstein a player, then why not your prop-up your KAMoose against a hybrid of, let's say, FedEx, Sampras, Edberg and Krajicek/Rafter (pick one). Somehow I think the FESK/R will win most of the time, unless they play in gravy. Your thoughts?

 

[Grimjack]

I just hope we have as great of a final in the upcoming French Open as the one yesterday. What are the chances that Fed and Nad will be seeded #1 and #2 again?

100%, barring injuries that knock one of them out before the seeds are announced.

And would it be surprising, given Nad's clay experience, to be seeded #1?

Yes. FO seeds by ranking, and Fed is untouchable there. That would be very surprising.

If Rafael were a grass court wiz, Wimbledon might be the one tournament where the seeding powers took that into account and bumped his seed ahead of his ranking. But then, he's a joke on grass, so no threat of that.

 

[Grimjack]

He combines the best qualities of Muster and Bruguera into one ultimate moose.

Throw in a liberal dose of Philippoussis, and I think you've got him nailed.

 

[pound cat]

I watched the match yesterday...Nadal is soooo fast...buzzing around there like a bee.

For one so young he has great sense as to what shot he should play at the moment...split-second thinking

His competativenesss and will to win & sheer energy.

Federer looked liike a toro who had given up in defeat from the outset, as Nadal raced around with his red cape taunting him.

A great match to watch...tennis as a game/sport.

 

[The Pusher Terminator]

What people dont talk about is Nadals hands at the net. HE CAN VOLLEY! He made some awesome shots at the net!

 

[VamosRafa]

Roger's interview gives a lot of insight into why he thinks Rafa is so tough:

http://www.asapsports.com/tennis/2006mcarlo/042306RF.html

I expecially liked this comment:

Q. You obviously felt you had to attack. You made a lot of what are supposedly called "unforced errors." Did you feel you had to try and keep the pressure on him all the time?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, he leaves me no choice. I'm not going to start looping the ball if he's in the middle of the box, you know. He obviously plays a lot of shots, you know, that tease you to come in. It's obvious I'm going to make the unforced errors because I'm the guy who's pressing and not him.

So, you know, the unforced error stat, I don't care really, seriously. That's what I was really actually angry about at the French Open, people telling me I was going for too much. They should play him and then see if they're not gonna go for it, you know.

This is interesting too:

Q. Would that be the start of the third set, when you broke him and then you looked pretty comfortable, and suddenly he breaks back.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, obviously it happens and he plays very well every point of the game, you know. No matter if he's down Love-40 or 40-Love, you're always going to get the same guy, you know. That's the same with me, you know. That's what the lower-ranked players tend not to do, you know, is they go for too much when they're losing or also when they're winning. So it's obvious that you get broken sometimes.

But I just thought, you know, I was not maybe serving well enough or just playing well enough from the baseline to really, you know, win some games. I just thought I gave him a little bit too much there.

 

[pound cat]

Consistently good.....Nadal has it on clay, and Federer has it on the other surfaces because there is no player consistently good enough to stop him on a regular basis.

Nadal does to Roger what Roger does to most opponents...lost before he's started.

Very interesting match to watch (and re-watch)

Passive Federer v. the Energizer Bunny.