I have thought about this before and most aspects of Nadal's game would be hard to improve. He fights for every point. He has the ground strokes and passing shots. When he comes to the net he does quite well. He doesn't rely on his net game but he has nothing to be ashamed of there. I think the area he could improve on which might make the difference is his serve. Whereas Roger and Novak seem to be able to come up with an Ace when they need it most, Rafa just pounds his serve in and hopes to wear out his opponent. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing awful about being number two in the world in anything. It's just that I think he could improve this part of his game. How? Well, I don't think he gets the full extention on his serve. He seems to be hitting the ball 4 inches lower in the toss than he has to. If he can get a better extention and more service winners he may even save a few blisters on his feet. Just like any sport. At this level its the little things that make the difference.
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Reputation: 96
Level: Superstar Since: Mar 20, 2008 
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Posted on: May 8, 2008 11:26 am
Nadal could make #1 IfExcellent points bluecollar. The serve is the only hole in Rafa's game. I have heard several tennis analysts discuss this very subject. Nadal is a natural right handed person who plays tennis left handed. This trait really helps him in a lot of areas, just as it does many athletes(check out how many of baseball's best hitters throw right, hit left). I think dominant left handed people have a natural advantage at sports as society forces them to master the use of their OFF Hand for many everyday tasks(can openers, musical instruments, etc are designed for use by right handers). Nadal is NOT a natural lefty. The story seems to be that around 7-8 while he was still using 2 hands on both sides, that Toni switched him to playing left handed. That doesn't hurt his groundstrokes and really helps his backhand, but he falls into the "Throws like a girl" syndrome. Patrick MacEnroe has talked at length about the difficulty someone like Nadal has mastering the overhead throwing motion. It's improved quite a bit in the last 3 years, and Rafa occasionally hits the high 120's on serves, but his motion lacks fluidity. He certainly isn't ambidextrous. Remember watching Luke Jensen serve in the 120s with either hand. I beleive that Raf's serve is what it is and he will have to play with it. He tries to mix things up Greg Maddox style with speed variation and placement. He's just never going to get those free serve points that separate him and Federer, or make Roddick a threat on any given day to control his own destiny. Rafa is the ULTIMATE grinder, probably the best I've ever seen, but he arrived at 17 with his game fully developed and I think has peaked. Grinders typically are not very long lived elite players(remember Rainer Schuetler's rise and fall for one year) and that's a big reason I don't think Nadal will reach #1. Roger's game, like Sampras, looks effortless and he seems almost injury proof as a result. Mono usually last 6 months and I think he is just now getting really healthy. I forsee Roger remaining #1 until Djokovic, who is both young and improving, catches him. Rafa, I think, has had the misfortune of bad timing for his career. I expect him to have 2-3 top flite years left and he will be history's best #2 player ever. JMHO |
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Reputation: 95
Level: Superstar Since: Dec 13, 2006
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Posted on: May 8, 2008 11:38 am
Nadal could make #1 IfThanks for the input. I had no idea Rafa was a true right hander. If I were his coach I think I would suggest developing the serve more. If I tried serving left handed it wouldn't be very pretty. The sun is shining today. I may have to go give it a try. |