Technically what changes should nadal do to his current playing style to adapt his game on hard courts?

Question

He was clearly outplayed by djokovic in the semis of the cincy event. It was very much the same case with his losses to tsonga in the aussie open, davydenko in miami, roddick in dubai and tursunov in rotterdam. Everyone has employ the game plan against him on hard courts.

Should he change his forehand grip from a full western to an eastern or semi western to limit his spins and hit the balls flatter?

Should he emulate how sampras serves to get some aces and have more free points?

Should he serve and volley or come to the net more often to finish every point quickly?

Should he use the chip and charge tactic especially against the opponents second serve and come to net for a volley winner?

What else should he do?

Answer 1

I think rafa's biggest problem in his losses on hard courts is that he leaves the ball too short. i dont think he should change his grip because i believe that wud be far to difficult to do at this point in his career and i think he is capable of hitting flatter balls without changing his grip. i heard during wimbledon that he was practicing faster serves and was reportedly getting up to 140mph so i think he will eventually start serving harder in his matches. i think he will continue to improve and be the best hard court player. also when he lost to djokovic this week he was exhausted and clearly he was not playing his best tennis

Answer 2

I don't know what it is but he was hitting the balls too short in the court to where Novak could just dominate the point (on his return-of-serve).  And he did look tired.  If Rafa keeps hitting those short balls, he better make them angles below the service line or his opponents will be committing manslaughter to those tennis balls.  I agree with you when he needs to be more aggressive.  I think in addition to being emasculated during that tennis match was that for one of the first times during the match, I felt he was timid.  He wasn't giving it his all and he was in a sense half-hitting every ball to where it was short in the court.  This is all just an avid high school tennis player's opinion on the situation and does not mean it is right.

Answer 3

Well despite the fact that I really don't like Djokovic I'll be the first to admit that I was very impressed with how he played against Nadal.  He was back to looking like the player who people were saying would transform the Nadal-Federer rivalry into a menage a trois of outstanding competition.  I loved how you phrased the early part of your question because now that I think about it it really did remind me of those matches, especially the match vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  

Should he change his forehand?  I really don't think so.  I have never heard of a player completely changing their grip on the forehand just to adjust to a different surface.  The spin is not as effective on hardcourts as grass and clay of course but his forehand is still one of the most deadly shots in tennis.  I wouldn't give up on it so quickly.

Emulate Sampras' serving game?  Sure.  If he can.  I'm sure every player in the world would like to do that.  Roger Federer based his service game off of Sampras and it seems to have "served" him pretty well... (Horrible pun!)  If Rafa could start serving like Pete that would certainly take him to a level that perhaps only Pete himself and Federer of two years ago have been at.  Unfortunately, Nadal will never serve that well (I don't think, I've learned to never say never about the guy).  The reason is pretty logical, Rafa, as many people know, is naturally a right handed person.  He does everything but play tennis right-handed, including throwing things.  Players are taught at a young age that the service motion with the arm is similar to a throwing motion.  That is why Nadal's serve has never been a huge weapon, at least ace-wise.  It is getting better but he still doesn't get it over 120 mph very often and rarely gets aces.  You can see in his serve that it isn't a natural motion, kind of awkward looking.

I don't think so.  With his quick feet it would be very hard to pass him but Nadal's net game has never been better than average.  Nadal either has never shown it, or just doesn't have very good touch at the net.  He doesn't really have a feel for the net game, at least not yet.  Also, his best advantage is his defense and speed.  If he came up to the net he would be forfeiting that advantage.  Also, as I said earlier, his serve isn't that much of a weapon.  He can use the spin to set people up and get short-balls I guess but serve and volley players are usually guys that have huge first serves.  The lefty-spin that Nadal has might be able to do the same thing though in setting up easy winners.  I still don't think it is a good idea though primarily because it is d**n near impossible to get a ball by him on the baseline, why would he make it easier?  

Once again, his net game isn't really good enough to do that.  I didn't mention earlier, he hits great approach shots.  He is great at the slice backhand and at hitting a forehand approach shot but once he is at the net his game drops from that of the best player in the world to far lower.  I don't know, I could see Nadal lose more points trying to come to the net than he would have had he stayed back, even in situations where it seems like the perfect chance to come up.  That's not so much an insult to his net game as it is a compliment to his baseline defense.  You just cannot get a ball by this guy unless it is a perfect shot... sometimes it even takes consecutive perfect shots.

If you ask me, Nadal's game is pretty much set in stone.  People say that he is still young and that is true, but he isn't really "up-and-coming" anymore either.  I think we've seen Nadal enter his prime this year.  He may still improve but not as vastly as he has recently.  When you get to be 22-23ish I think that your game is pretty much set in stone.  Pete Sampras was the best serve-and-volleyer in the world by the time he was 22, Federer had established his all-around game and made his forehand known throughout the game by the time he was winning his first major (At the age of 21 I think).  But I digress, my point was that at 22, Rafa Nadal can't really change his game too much more.  His serve is still improving but he would really have to workout 24/7 in order to establish a threatening net game after so long on the tour already.  I'm not saying he couldn't do it, because as I said earlier, I've learned now to doubt him, but I don't really see it happening and even if he did, I don't think he'd be as good as he is now.  

Answer 4

Despite himbeing out played, and though he isnt one to make excuses, the dude is just exhausted and rightfully so. However his game on hard courts could use adjusting despite his success. I personally think he needs to step in more and not play way beyond the baseline so defensively so often and be more agressive. He leaves many strokes too short for his opponents to pounce on. against many players he can get away with it with his amazing topspin, but afainst the top players, he needs to change his game to succeed.

Answer 5

Novak did outplay Nadal, i agree. However you must be forgetting something... Rafa was tired, he wasnt moving aswell as he usually does, he certainly wasnt playing his best tennis and he admitted that in an interview. Considering the past months Nadal has had, winning all the tournaments its understandable he is tired! Novak has had a lot more time to rest and prepare for the hard season than Nadal has.... Rafa has improved on hardcourt surfaces, he won in toronto :) and semi finals at cincy is his best ever result....how can ppl say thats bad? They talk rubbish........ haha He`ll prove all his haters wrong just like he did on grass :)! Nadal is a very strong contender for the US Open so we`ll see how it goes..............

Answer 6

well firstly i want to say that nadal losing to djovick is not a big deal.... nadal lost respectively to the next best player after himself.. not in a strange upset loss like what has been happening to federer the past few months....

nadals hardcourt game has improved.. he did win in toronto.. and did make the semifinals in cinniciatti.. that to me is good progress..

nadal also has had alot of big moments in tennis this year, he has accomplished alot, been producing some great tennis, and sometimes it takes its toll..

but for him to get even better on hardcourts i would say hit flatter sometimes, and attack the net more, this way it atleast puts more pressure on the opponent..

all and all nadal is coming along..

Answer 7

Some of the changes which you have told are too drastic to be made as it might even hinder his clay and grass court game. Rafa is constantly improving and is one of the best hard court players in the world too. He's won 4 masters titles in hard courts. So he can play there.

Serving some aces and improving his serve will help . Changing grip is too difficult. He should try to stop slicing and try to hit solid back hands and be more offensive. Hitting the ball longer would help too.

Unlike in clay where Rafa is the absolute master and in grass where Rafa and Federer r the masters, no one can claim hard courts as thier own now. From past years sucess, Federer can claim it, Djoker plays well too. But rite now all the top dogs r inconsistant. It's true that Rafa lost to Djoker. But Federer lost to Simone n Karlovic, Djoker lost to Murray twice and Murray was beaten soundly by Rafa.  Rafa will be a string contender even though he has flaws in this surface .

Answer 8

he needs to stop hitting high balls that land on the service box which lets ppl get ready to pull the trigger on their forehand! he needs to go to the net more often,needs to find a bigger serve with more speed! hit more flat shots and mix it up with slices and stand inside the baseline! someone needs to give him some advice on how to play on hard! against top players he just gets beat too often. u know when he starts playing short balls he is either tired or not playing well!

Answer 9

well just a few things because he is currently one of the best hard court players in the world.

first, stop using slice... this is ok on grass and clay but on hard it gives his opponent the perfect oppurtunity to attack

next, dare i say be more agressive.... nadal is known for his amazing defense and ability to ware out his opponent, but on hard court the people he plays are given to many opportunities to hit winners, espicially on the faster hard courts

finally, i believe he should come to net more.. he is always rather good at net but it seems like he only goes up if hes forced up and he messes up much more when hes rushed.

these are just a few things he should change but who am i to talk hes #2* in the world

VAMOSS RAFA!!!!

*subject to change to #1 august 18 2008