Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Progress in Contrasting Styles

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 23, 2011

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It's Sunday evening and it’s seven days into the 2011 Australian Open.

The spotlight remains focused on the rivalry for the ages. Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are on course for a shoot-out on Sunday, the 30th of January.

That is, if the drama on court plays out as the script their fans envision.

The No.1 and No. 2 seeds have taken different routes to the much expected showdown.

Rafael Nadal has yet to drop a set in his three matches. He takes on Marin Cilic in the fourth round on Monday, the 24th.

Bernard Tomic surprised him in the third round, reeling off four games in a row to go 4-0 up in the second set. Nadal struggled to find his A-serve but Tomic’s inexperience and Nadal’s never-say-die attitude ensured that the blip was soon forgotten and buried.

Tomic will live to fight another day. He is Australia’s hope for the future.

The ability to take the ball early and his Eastern grip have been remarked upon. That he is still experimenting with his game and style of play was evident in some of his poor shot selection. He is a clean hitter of the ball on both flanks and left the US Open champion looking leaden-footed with strikes that seared the sidelines.

More about the Eastern grip: Vijay Amritraj, in his "Ask VJ" section, mentioned that in his heyday, players preferred the Continental grip. Modern players use the Western grip which holds the racket much more lower than the handshake that sums up  the Continental.

The Eastern style allows players to hold the racket, top-and-over making it ideal if you intend to meet the ball early. It is not suited for low-lying balls.

For Tomic, it seemed the ideal way to play, taking the ball nice and high at around waist height and dispatching it to the nether regions of the court.

More about the various forehand grips here. I do not profess to be an expert on the ga...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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