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> He also has a very reliable 2 handed backhand I've not analyzed it in depth, but against Federer on grass the other day he avoided hitting his backhand A LOT

> He also has a very reliable 2 handed backhand I've not analyzed it in depth, but against Federer on grass the other day he avoided hitting his backhand A LOT. It was as if only 20% of the court was in play for his backhand. His forehand is absolutely excellent, so perhaps that's part of it. I'd have to watch him on clay again (haven't in a while) to see if the slower court means he can avoid hitting that backhand even more/more easily

osrec 7y ago
Federer was ripping his backhand to Rafa's forehand - this is not what Federer usually does, and it unsettled Rafa. On grass, a ripped single handed backhand zips through the court and is hard to deal with. Rafa usually runs round anything to his backhand so he can hit up the line to Fed's backhand (Fed's "weakness"). Yesterday this wasn't working due to the quality of Federer's backhand. In all Federer was just playing too well yesterday - great game plan, executed very well. Rafa couldn't play his normal game against Federer's variety. But great match overall. Can't believe they play like this at their age.
- whycombagator 7y ago
  It was certainly an epic game. From what I witnessed, at times, Nadal was actively running around shots placed to his backhand. These were shots placed towards, almost, the corner of the court - perfect for a backhand reply, yet he was still trying to hit forehands. Sometimes it worked out quite well for him, other times not so much
  - xbmcuser 7y ago
    To me Nadal's greatest strength is keeping the ball in play most players are not that consistent so make the error in long rallies and give him the point. Djokovic and Fedrer don't so he has to go for winners against them where when he hits good he beats when he doesn't he looses. In the semi he won the 2nd set when Fedrer started making errors. In 2nd and third Fedrer cut down on his errors and made Nadal go for winners which Nadal wasn't able to.

osrec 7y ago

Federer was ripping his backhand to Rafa's forehand - this is not what Federer usually does, and it unsettled Rafa. On grass, a ripped single handed backhand zips through the court and is hard to deal with. Rafa usually runs round anything to his backhand so he can hit up the line to Fed's backhand (Fed's "weakness"). Yesterday this wasn't working due to the quality of Federer's backhand. In all Federer was just playing too well yesterday - great game plan, executed very well. Rafa couldn't play his normal game against Federer's variety. But great match overall. Can't believe they play like this at their age.

whycombagator 7y ago
It was certainly an epic game. From what I witnessed, at times, Nadal was actively running around shots placed to his backhand. These were shots placed towards, almost, the corner of the court - perfect for a backhand reply, yet he was still trying to hit forehands. Sometimes it worked out quite well for him, other times not so much
- xbmcuser 7y ago
  To me Nadal's greatest strength is keeping the ball in play most players are not that consistent so make the error in long rallies and give him the point. Djokovic and Fedrer don't so he has to go for winners against them where when he hits good he beats when he doesn't he looses. In the semi he won the 2nd set when Fedrer started making errors. In 2nd and third Fedrer cut down on his errors and made Nadal go for winners which Nadal wasn't able to.