Rafael Nadal Reveals a Vulnerability as He Advances at Indian Wells

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 18, 2011

commentComment        

I was surprised to see Rafael Nadal struggle at all in his last two matches with Somdev Dev Varman and Ivo Karlovic at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Nadal, who had recently taken time off due to an injury, had arrived at the tournament in top physical condition, so I expected him to play superbly, as usual.

Instead, Nadal had to work unexpectedly hard to defeat Dev Varman and Karlovic, and he reminded me of what I believe is his Achilles' heel: You must keep Nadal out of his rhythm.  Avoid long rallies.  Go for winners.  Keep him guessing. 

Nadal loves getting into a comfort zone on the baseline and exchanging groundstrokes until he seizes a moment to put his weight into a stroke and belt it away from his opponent.  Often, his opponent barely returns that ball and Nadal puts the next shot away.  The more comfortable Nadal becomes, the more he gets into a rhythm and the better his choices and timing seem to grow for going on the offensive.

Yet, against Dev Varman and Karlovic, Nadal was unable to get into his rhythm as consistently as usual.  Dev Varman and Karolovic each served exceptionally well against Nadal, especially the 6'10" Karlovic, who served many aces or barely hittable serves.  But, it wasn't just the dominant serves.  I noticed that Dev Varman and Karlovic each tried to be aggressive in their shotmaking early in the point, and sometimes this strategy worked.  Unfortunately, neither player has an impressive enough ground game to sustain this approach without making unforced errors of their own.  Nadal defeated Dev Varman 7-5, 6-4, then, Karlovic, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6.

Nevertheless, I noticed that Nadal didn't seem as comfortable as I've often seen him in other matches, including mostly contests against superior players.  Facing the terrific serving of his opponents got Nadal a bit rattled, but w...
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!