Questions Mounting for Rafael Nadal Heading into Clay-Court Season

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 4, 2015

commentComment        



Rafael Nadal has reigned over men's tennis every spring for the last decade.

The King of Clay dominates his surface like no other player in ATP history. And this year, the switch to dirt can't come soon enough for the Spaniard. After several months of disappointing results on grass and hard courts, Nadal looks increasingly vulnerable.

That's a word which hasn't been used to describe him in a very long time—if ever.

He hasn't entered a clay-court season with this many doubts about his form since 2005, when he was still a relatively unknown 18-year-old.

So how did Nadal reach this crossroads? It started last January.

Nadal kicked off the 2014 season with a bang, winning a season-opening title in Doha. At the Australian Open, his torrid streak continued as he beat Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer on his way to the final. But that's where the first cracks in the Spaniard's armor began to show.

Against first-time Grand Slam finalist Stan Wawrinka, Nadal looked out of sorts at the start of the match. Wawrinka used some overwhelming power to fluster him and took the first set 6-3. After being broken early in the second set, Nadal's back seized up. 

At times, Nadal could barely strike the ball. But he soldiered on. Yet despite his heroic efforts, Nadal couldn't hold off Wawrinka and lost the match in four agonizing sets.



A golden opportunity to collect another major slipped away for Nadal because of his increasingly fragile body. And it was an injury he'd never fully recover from until having a stem-cell treatment at the end of the year.

His pains continued at Indian Wells last spring when Alexandr Dolgopolov shocked him in the third round. At his next tournament in Miami, Nadal raced to the final but was soundly rocked by Novak Djokovic in a straight-sets blowout. 

During the 2014 clay-court s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!