[2003]

Anyone else noticed this?

I can remember if Petzchner simply haddnt dropped his opening game against Nadal Wimbledon 2010 he probably could of won. Likewise a bit of a slow start by Isner at 2011 French Open cost him.

Haas yesterday also.

Why is this?

Do you think his pre match antics disrupt players rythym?

 

[General Suburbia]

Probably his playstyle of hitting really heavy topspin balls takes a bit of adjusting to.

 

[idolwatcher1]

they probably didn't want to end up like Robert Kendrick at Wimby 2006, where they put all their energy into beating him in the first two sets, only to start slowly wilting away in the next three?
I dunno

 

[abraxas21]

Anyone else noticed this?

I can remember if Petzchner simply haddnt dropped his opening game against Nadal Wimbledon 2010 he probably could of won.

nah, petz would have found a way to choke away the match in any case.

and cracked knees nadal would have found a way to ask for a zillion MTO to make sure of that

 

[HKz]

Nadal is consistent so if you aren't on with your shots, obviously he will take advantage. Interestingly though, Federer starts many of their matches pretty well. Of course playing a lefty and his large amount of topspin have also much to do with this, as you don't play a player that similar to Nadal everyday.

 

[tribalfusion]

Just so I understand the premise...do other players start "fast" against Djokovic or Federer?

 

[Luinir]

Because he is GOAT.

 

[Topspindoctor]

Because he is GOAT.

This

 

[orangehat]

This

:spit: :rolls:

 

[MaxPower]

You make it sound like all players start slowly vs Nadal. When Soderling beat him in RG he took first set 6-2 and lost the 2nd set. He's also taken the 1st set in Wimbledon to then fade.

Murray this year started just excellent vs Nadal in Wimbledon and then faded.

Lacko today was right in the match after 5-6 games but then faded.

If anything I feel like Nadal is like a constant. Never gets better, never gets worse. But that level is still so high that you need to keep up a very high level of offensive tennis. Some players might only find their best level and the right ballhit when they are warmed up. Some players lose a little timing and gets worse ballhit when the legs get tired.

But in the end all you need is excellent offensive tennis for 3 full sets. I think many players on the tour can produce it for 2 sets but only a handful can manage it for 3 sets. So Nadal is harder to beat in slams for sure.

 

[HKz]

You make it sound like all players start slowly vs Nadal. When Soderling beat him in RG he took first set 6-2 and lost the 2nd set. He's also taken the 1st set in Wimbledon to then fade.

Murray this year started just excellent vs Nadal in Wimbledon and then faded.

Lacko today was right in the match after 5-6 games but then faded.

If anything I feel like Nadal is like a constant. Never gets better, never gets worse. But that level is still so high that you need to keep up a very high level of offensive tennis. Some players might only find their best level and the right ballhit when they are warmed up. Some players lose a little timing and gets worse ballhit when the legs get tired.

But in the end all you need is excellent offensive tennis for 3 full sets. I think many players on the tour can produce it for 2 sets but only a handful can manage it for 3 sets. So Nadal is harder to beat in slams for sure.

Well that is exactly what it is. Nadal's game heavily relies on his opponent. Whenever a player plays Nadal, it is 90% of the time on their racket outside of clay. Even on clay, oftentimes it is the opponent that dictates whether they win or lose, which is why you often see Nadal have really bad starts or really good starts. It isn't like some other plays like a Federer or whatever where oftentimes it just stays on serve early on.

 

[n8]

The OP is right. Nadal seems more likely to break very early in the 1st set compared to other times. I believe there are several reasons for this.

1 - Nadal's style takes some getting used to (lefty + very high topspin)
2 - The consistency of Nadal means his opponent has to go for winners early on which is tough without rhythm (see 1)
3 - Nerves of facing one of the greatest players ever
4 - Nadal's intensity is high from the very 1st point, few other players are like this
5 - Nadal often plays more aggressively early on before reverting to his usual style

 

[sportstennis]

Because, nadal is greatest clay player. same Borg

 

[BroTree123]

This

Why am I not surprised

 

[Shinoj]

You make it sound like all players start slowly vs Nadal. When Soderling beat him in RG he took first set 6-2 and lost the 2nd set. He's also taken the 1st set in Wimbledon to then fade.

Murray this year started just excellent vs Nadal in Wimbledon and then faded.

Lacko today was right in the match after 5-6 games but then faded.

If anything I feel like Nadal is like a constant. Never gets better, never gets worse. But that level is still so high that you need to keep up a very high level of offensive tennis. Some players might only find their best level and the right ballhit when they are warmed up. Some players lose a little timing and gets worse ballhit when the legs get tired.

But in the end all you need is excellent offensive tennis for 3 full sets. I think many players on the tour can produce it for 2 sets but only a handful can manage it for 3 sets. So Nadal is harder to beat in slams for sure.

This.

Well said.

Nadal plays at a constant level, not worse not better. He has a same tempo. Same style throughout. That is his biggest advantage. His consistency. Other players get affected by the tempo of the match but he doesnt get,

Actually in normal Court conditions that should have been his downfall as well.As he cannot play at a higher level, players more naturally gifted should have outplayed him. But doesnt happen more happen on these Slow Homogenised courts. Its mostly play upto him

But these days as we saw on the Indoor Leg most of them are outplaying Nadal easily. Things are changing for better.