How to beat Nadal on clay
Bodo of tennis.com writes, "Djokovic was unable to dictate on many occasions for any number of reasons, mostly having to do with the rule about keeping the ball within or on the lines. If he plays at a similar level in his future meetings with Nadal, the result is likely to be the same. Yet we also saw many examples of the shot combinations that allow Djokovic to push Nadal around and off the court, which must continue to be an area of concern for Nadal."
I would agree that to beat Nadal, you've got to go for the miraculous shot, not just the percentage shot. You've got to either drive him hard off the clay, as did Soderling, or you've got to spread him left and right and forwards, as Djoko did last year. But now, we have a Nadal aware of all these possibilities and is moving and serving well. What is your strategy to beat Nadal on clay, if you were a tour player?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on
-
Heh, trying to see what people think is the solution to beat Nadal.lol But there is probably little to be done with Rafa this year.
-
-
Is the combination that works is hit deep repeatedly to Nadal's backhand and hit short to the forehand, forcing Nadal to hit up, and be parked at the net? That seems to be what Fed and Djoko's plan, to go with the dropper and force Nadal to run diagonally and forwards and cut off his angle.
Soderling just kept driving wider and wider, with that big turkey swing forehand and driving that backhand missile up the line. Or he seemed to hit deep to the backhand with his backhand and then slide his forehand out wide to Nadal's forehand or come up to the net and intercept the Rafa backhand.
-
-
Slice out wide to Rafa's backhand and knock off the volley or short reply to the open court. Fed's done that one before. I see Soderling did that too, in the youtube I just looked at.
-
Permalink Reply by Joe B. (BP, CA) on
-
But if it were that easy, everyone would be beating Nadal, ha ha ha! He's not just going to let people boss him around the court, right? And only a few top players can implement this strategy, point after point.
-
-
Of course, it's not that easy. Nadal is doing something in return to either prevent those strategies or do his strategy first. Now that Nadal has seen these strategies, I'm sure he has something in store which is better than what he had before.
He now can volley and do midcourt stuff better, thanks to his doubles experience. And he does not hit short as much as he did against Soderling and does not go into retrieval mode. He stays in attack mode better.
-
Permalink Reply by Chin Be on
-
Beat Nadal on clay? The best thing to do is hire a grunt to bash one of his knees in with a bat prior to the match. However, on a court, mano a mano with a racquet and tennis balls? The man is near untouchable this year. Only Fed and Nole might have what it takes and they have to get lucky enough to catch Rafa on an off day.
-
Permalink Reply by CoachV - William Vazquez on -
how much does the grunt work pay???
-
-
Ask Tonya Harding's boyfriend what he was paid. Or was it a labor of love? lol
-
Permalink Reply by CoachV - William Vazquez on
-
well the thing I find that Nole had last year better than anyone was the feel of a match..... he can sense the ups and down or rhythm of the match and adjust accordingly to win... an example of this was against federer in the US open last year....when Federer is up 2 break points nole on the way back to the baseline to return serve just gives an upsidedown smile like he was thinking " ok... what am i gonna lose here? nothing... so you know what im gonna make you pay!" then turn around Nole wins...
this type of advance thinking and strategy is whats needed to beat Nadal on clay because Nadal on clay is like the road runner. the Roadrunner VS the coyote.....the Coyote is coming up with many different strategies to win but the road runner is just to fast, but the coyote never takes a direct approach like a gun to Kill instead of catching, the goal will be the same you eat but the tactics are different....
to beat nadal you have to be on your game, understand wheres he is at on his game, and pull the trigger! the only thing that can happen is you miss and he gets away......
like the cartoon the road runner actually give the coyote a chance once in a while to just simply grab him......that would be the situation to pull out your glock and go dirty harry....THE END.
so wait for that situation, go for the kill and dont expect the first try to work.... you should win if enough opportunities come about, then and only then you can take the win
-
-
I like this analogy, Coach V! Yes, it is like catching someone who is elusive. But I still like watching how Soderling did it. It was like he set three or four traps in advance, and patiently watched Nadal the roadrunner go into the traps, and then he went cold eyed "Dirty Harry" on him.
Did Magnus Norman and Soderling sit down and devise these strategies and rehearse them? Looking at the youtube, Soderling kept hitting to the inside out forehand, baiting Nadal to leave the forehand side open. I see it over and over. He kept wrongfooting Nadal on the backhand or had him scurrying to cover the deep forehand corner. Often times, just hitting deep into Nadal's left hip on the inside out forehand caused him to miss short many times.
Sorry, Mark T. but that's how I see that fourth round Soderling match. I know Nadal had knee pain that day, but Soderling's strategy to my mind was the most comprehensive plan I have ever seen to defeat Nadal. It wasn't Fed's feel out style of planning or Djoko's cocksure plan of attrition. It was something far more solid than either one. Everyone is beatable.
-
Permalink Reply by CoachV - William Vazquez on
-
IF Everyone is Beatable then Everyone can IMPROVE! - CoachV
© 2024 Created by Mark / The Mayor.
Powered by
