Callum wrote:Ach wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/54499161
The goatVa-Va-Voom wrote:Callum wrote:Can someone more knowledgeable than me explain why Nadal is so dominant on clay? What is it about the surface that suits his game so much more than Djokovic, Federer etc?
1. He grew up playing on clay.
2. The surface is slower and he is a formidable defender, the slower surface gives him more time to construct points and also makes it harder to hit winners past him since he can run any ball down with his speed and agility
3. He has bad knees and clay is the softest surface so he's most comfortable when playing there
4. His forehand is far stronger and more reliable than his backhand, since clay is slower he has time to run around shots he would otherwise have to take on his backhand and instead use his preferred and more potent forehand
5. His groundstrokes are naturally top spin heavy but on clay this is accentuated even more. The surface and humidity in May (when the French is usually held) causes the ball to bounce up even higher than normal which makes it difficult for his opponents to return since it kicks up awkwardly above their chest level, so they aren't able to generate as much power or accuracy.
6. He is left handed so his top spin heavy forehand will usually be directed to a right handed player's backhand, which is typically a player's weaker side.
7. He is amazing at crafting angled shots on clay with his whipped forehand which pulls players off the court and gives him more room to hit winners.
The top spin he is able to generate is probably the single most important factor.
He also looked like he had beefed up a little this year to add a little more weight behind those shots given the cooler conditions and the change in balls from Babolat to Wilson which were even slower. Hadn’t watched Rafa play until the final and thought he looked beastly when he walked on court.
Djokovic, a lot weaker in comparison, only really started hitting through the ball harder when he got that break in the third set and got a little confidence. Rafa was even destroying him with looping backhands asking Novak to generate all the power which he wasn’t able to do as effectively. Novak would therefore rely on drop shots to move Rafa around which rarely worked or were poorly executed.
He really is just superhuman on clay. So happy he won and equalled Fed on 20.
