Rafael Nadal can just survive three more years with his gruelling game style – Tennis News
World number two, Rafael Nadal, is known for terrific willpower to keep the ball in the play despite his knee and legs are grinded in the process. He plays deep from the baseline and runs across the court like a beast until he
wins the point or the ball is out of the court. He is rarely seen watching the ball sailing past him from the other corner of the court. You will always see him approaching the return shot.
However, he is not helping his career with such a technique. He can sustain such game style as long as he is fit and firing but when he will enter his late 20’s, he will not be able to generate the same amount of pace from his
tiring legs. The aging factor will deplete his stamina that will affect his game play. So, in reality he just has three more years left in him considering that he is 24-year-old.
Former world number one, Roger Federer, has able to survive so long and still be one of the Top-3 players in the world in the world is due to the fact that he is static when playing and not running around like a superhuman. He
is elegant with his shot making and overpowers his opponent with his guile and ability to take control of the rally.
On the other hand, Nadal doesn’t own such quality. He has to run across the court rigorously to make sure he wins the point. The result is the same for two legendary figures. They win points but in case of the Spaniard, the body
takes a lot of toll in the process whereas Federer is able to perform it with his mastery and skill.
There is no way I am stating that Nadal has no shots at all under his belt. He is terrific when it comes to pinpoint accurate forehand cross court and down the line returns, it is just that his game style is built in that fashion
that he has to struggle extremely hard to oust his opponents.
Another issue with Nadal is that he is facing a niggling knee injury ever since he was just 14-year-old. So, if that problem continues, the time will come when his knee will be unable to take more toll and refuse to assist his
game style. He might have to change his strategy a bit to prolong his career, otherwise he will just be left agitated with his inability to return the shots that he used to in his early days that will just leave him in no man’s land. A stitch in time saves
nine and change in Spanish number one’s game style now will help him for foreseeable future.
At the moment, he is struggling to hold on to that number two spot due to the consistent pressure from the Swiss Maestro who will snatch the second rank from the Spaniard if he manages to claim the title in Madrid. Nadal and Djokovic
have already lost and Federer is the hot favourite to take the crown and the second spot in the world.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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