Rafael Nadal: Champion’s Transformation on U.S. Open Hard Courts

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 14, 2010

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This has been an incredible US Open, not least because it finished on the 3rd Monday for the 3rd year in a row (roof anyone?)  But the real revelation in US Open 2010 has been Rafael Nadal.  Who would have thought that Nadal would win the tournament after only dropping one set, and that dropped set was in the final against Novak Djokovic.

This is the same player who for so many years has had trials and tribulations at the US open, always seemingly at the mercy of the big hitters from James Blake to Juan Martin Del Potro and even aggressive play from Andy Murray in 2008.   But this year Nadal was the one who was the big hitter.  How did this transformation take place in the space of 12 months? 

The key to the transformation for Nadal’s domination at this year’s US Open is a state of mind, which was aided by Nadal’s better scheduling so that he didn’t arrive at the US Open either tired or suffering injuries.  In terms of scheduling, after taking some time off after this year’s Australian Open due to those knee problems, Nadal didn’t play his first tournament until March in Indian Wells.

Nadal didn’t have a great spring hard court season in North America but had another exceptional season in Europe winning every clay court event he entered including an historic run of Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and French Open back to back.  Nadal opted to miss Barcleona for the first time and that decision did wonders for his fitness and freshness.

After Roland Garros, Nadal entered Queens and got knocked out in the quarterfinal by compatriot Feliciano Lopez.  That turned out to be a blessing because with Queens so close to Wimbledon time wise, it gave Nadal the opportunity to go to Mallorca and get some quality time before Wimbledon, which he duly won for the 2nd time despite some tough matches in the early rounds.



 
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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