Rafael Nadal needs to make the following tweaks to his strategy if he wants to beat Novak Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open finals.
It is clear that Rafa's previous strategy against Novak is no longer effective. Nadal was 0-6 last year against Djokovic. It is time for him to make a couple of tactical changes and perform in one very key area.
1st Serve Accuracy
Djokovic is an absolute elite return man. He is deadly and accurate. This has led to him leading the Australian Open in service breaks.
Rafa is not going to dominate with his serve, but he can make sure he controls his service points by landing his first serve.
He doesn't have to swing for aces, just keep Djokovic on defense. Last season, Rafa hit just 56 percent of his first serves against Nole, and he was exploited. Rafa was failing to get much depth on his second serve and he got punished.
Nadal is hitting 70 percent of his first serves this tournament. He needs to keep that percentage going, and he needs to make sure they have good depth.
Work the Net
Nadal has always been content to win from the baseline. He needs to snap out of that comfort zone a little in this one and charge the net.
He doesn't need to become a serve and volley player or anything radical. He just needs to come up enough that Novak knows it is a threat.
Djokovic has been quick to hit short drop shots on Rafa and get him out of position. He will be a lot more hesitant to do this if Nadal charges the net a few times each set.
Force the Running Backhand
Rafa loves to pound his forehand into his opponent's backhands. This has served him well against opponents like Roger Federer.
This is not the way to attack Nole though. Djokovic has been making more errors when hitting the forehand on the run than he has with his backhand smash, which is one of the best in the game.
Rafa should only make it a point to hit to Djokovic's backhand when he is setting him up for a running forehand.
Go Down the Line with His Backhand
Typically Nadal will go with the easier diagonal shot on his backhand. This match he needs to focus more on taking that straight down the line.
When he goes diagonal it is far too easy for Nole to pound away at Rafa's backhand. If Nadal goes down the line he will be able to set himself up for his dominant forehand on the next shot.
Prediction: Nadal in four sets
Rafa is a student of the game. He adapted to beat Roger Federer, and he will adapt here to a more effective style against Djokovic. He is healthy, fresh and playing great. He will be the 2012 Australian Open champ.
Kevin Russo Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez
No comments:
Post a Comment