Does 2011 mark the end of Rafael Nadal’s dominance over the tennis world ? – Tennis Special
Over the years, Nadal’s fans numbers have increased all over the world. It is partly due to the face that he is the most competitive and relentless player of all time and partly because he brings sheer excitement and never-say-die
attitude on to the tennis court.
Nadal emerged as the best clay court player in presence of super Roger Federer, who is arguably the greatest player of all time. Although Nadal struggled to find his place in the top 10 early in his career, he improved his game
play significantly on all types of courts to break into the elite group of Association of Tennis Professionals.
Many tennis analysts are of the view of that although Federer is the greatest player of all time, yet he is not the greatest player of his own time. His winning streak on the green surface was astonishing as he claimed five straight
Wimbledon titles. However, after having lost twice to the King of Grass at the All England Lawn Club, Nadal finally had his moment in 2008 when he defeated the Swiss in five sets in the final to end the era of Federer’s Dominance.
Nadal then continued to dominate the hard courts as well as he recorded his first ever Australian Open and US Open victories to complete his career Grand Slam. Following his mind boggling performances on the tour, he surpassed
Roger Federer in the ATP ranking to world number one. Nadal stayed on top of the ranking charts for more than 100 weeks, though his world number one ranking looked vulnerable as soon as the year 2011 started.
Just a month back, Nadal lost to Serbian powerhouse Novak Djokoivc for the fifth successive time as he failed to defend his Wimbledon title. However, his two clay court final losses to Djokovic earlier are the most surprising of
them all as considering Nadal’s record on the red surface no one expected him to lose.
"I haven't played my best level in clay. I did not neither a bad mach, but normal, and playing normal against a big Djokovic hasn't been enough. Has to be accepted. I'm sorry specially for the people that here always encouraged
me more". "I don't think that things will change alone and I'm gonna do the possible to improve. I came of doing a very good season, but there's someone who is doing it better. You just can accept it and congratulate him" he added.
Falling to the Serbian in four Masters Finals and one Grand Slam Final will definitely play on Nadal’s mind when he takes on his rival next time on the tour. It will not be wrong to say that Djokovic has been able to get under
Nadal’s skin and now he looks to be the only winner whenever these two players meet each other.
Despite Nadal making a coming back in the third set 6-1 in the Wimbledon final, he never looked in his comfort zone as he struggled to get to Djokovic’s big forehand and backhand winners. Even Nadal himself admits that he has not
been to find answers against his opponent’s onslaught.
Perhaps the 10 times grand Slam Champion needs to be more aggressive in his approach and concentrate on his own game play. If he lets Djokovic dictate the terms of their match, it is not going to be easy for him to find winning
ways. Self-belief and confidence will also play a tricky role in their meetings to come.
"You have to play more aggressive, but you have to feel more right when you enter. I was doing damage with his backhand crosscourt. I've been there, the party had begun fatal", described Nadal in an interview.
However surely, whoever has seen the Spaniard running like a hare on the court over the year, will know that he is not going to give up and that he will come back stronger to regain the number one position.
"You have to play more aggressive, but you have to feel more right when you enter. I was doing damage with his backhand crosscourt. I've been there, the party had begun fatal", described Nadal.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and have nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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