(Pic courtesy: Toon Pool)
Nadal just lost in the US Open final. That is not particularly heart-breaking. You win some, You lose some. However, he lost once again to the Joker from Serbia. Now that's a worrying bit.
Today's match was extremely close. Was stretched to the 5th set and either player could have crossed the finishing line. The first set did not have anything spectacular. They both played decent (read: Okay) tennis. Rafa managed to take the first set. In the next two sets and the first half of the fourth test, Djokovic completely dominated Rafa. Djokovic did play brilliant tennis but Rafa allowed himself to be dominated and that is another worrying bit.
Rafa picked up his game brilliantly in the second half of the fourth set to take the set and he kept the momentum in the first half of the fifth set. Though Rafa did lose the fifth set (and as a result the match), there was nothing to be ashamed of the manner in which he played the fifth set. He played extremely well but so did the Joker. That's fine and acceptable.
However, the consistency at which Novak Djokovic has been beating Rafael Nadal is amazing and disconcerting. The results of the recent and consistent losses to the Joker is showing on Rafa. The defeats seem to have created a mental block and Rafa has not been playing his normal game (for the most part) against Joker.
Rafa is a gifted athlete, who slowly but steadily wears down his opponents through long rallies. Plus the angles that he creates with his shots make the court much larger to cover for his opponents. Though he is still successfully doing that against most opponents, he has been unable to do that consistently against Joker. So what is so different? What has changed off late?
No matter how much I dislike the Joker, I cannot stop myself from admitting that his game has improved immensely in the last year and half. He has always been strong with his forehand as well as backhand but his forehand has suddenly become a lethal weapon. Not only it has become much faster, it has also become much more accurate. With an extremely effective forehand, a decent backhand, a good serve and a supremely fit body, he is definitely a package that is difficult to beat. If only he was not so irritating, he would have won some more fans. Not that he cares. He should be happy with the rankings, trophies and moolah!!
The sudden improvement in Joker's game caught everyone by surprise. From being a close 3rd, he suddenly got into top gear and overtook everyone else. He has been beating everyone, including Rafa. The first 1-2 losses seemed like 'Rafa was defeated by a better player on that day'. On those occasions (first few losses), there was not much wrong with Rafa's game. It was just that everything was absolutely flawless about Joker's game.
However, the defeats started affecting Rafa (that is my theory, Rafa has not told me that. Honestly!!!). Now, there seems to be a mental block. Quite often, he becomes a little too defensive against Joker. The shots become much shorter, the angles are usually missing and he tries to keep the ball in play rather than make Joker run around. As a result, Joker gets to show off the might of his supreme forehand. He makes Rafa run all around the court and he beats Rafa in long rallies!!! It may be an exaggeration but Nadal's defensive strategy is pretty similar to what Martina Hingis used to adopt or was made to adopt against Venus Williams!!! In that case, of course there was a huge difference in the abilities (as per my opinion....and the statistics). Yet Venus Williams, through her powerful game, was able to affect Hingis much more mentally than anything else. The same seems to be happening to Rafa against Joker.
Rafa should try to exploit the weaker backhand (weaker only compared to the forehand) of Joker ut he seldom manages to do that. Moreover, he seems to be trying to do a little extra with his first serve, which has so far not been a particularly successful ploy. He ends up making mistakes and the decreasing first serve percentages are an indication. That is not alarming though. This ploy does help Rafa win some easy points. It is just that when it does not click, the situation is worsened by an extremely defensive and weak second serve. His second serve is nothing but cannon fodder for Joker!!!
It is not that Rafa lags behind through out the game. When he sees a window, he picks up his game and starts putting pressure. He did the same thing at the end of the fourth set and through out the fifth set. He played like usual....brilliantly. Yet, Joker won the fifth set as he played marginally better and he handled pressure a lot better.
There is nothing wrong with Rafa's game. It is not that he cannot beat Joker. However, he needs to overcome the mental block. He has to believe in himself like I and his millions of fans believe in him. If he plays his usual game against the Joker, he should be able to substantially decrease Joker's dominance on the outcome. Today's match was indeed an evenly-fought contest but that was probably because Rafa played his usual game only in patches. Had he been his usual self, the result could have been different.
You must overcome the mental block Rafa and should not allow Joker to manipulate your game. I know that you can do it Rafa!!! Vamos!!!
And ya, well played today (in patches)!!!
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