Why does Nadal have so much trouble on Hard Court?

Question

Why does Nadal have so much trouble on Hard Court?

Answer 1

i think his weak knees r to be blamed for it

Answer 2

His serve had been his worst enemy, but he has much improved on it. Not a typical fast ones like Roddick's weapon. Nadal's heavier. With his knee injury he wasn't able to move as fast, but better this year. His style of tennis wasn't favorable on hard, too intense,and wastes needless energy, unlike Federer's technical supremacy. But he has improved as you saw at the Wimbledon.  Everything considered, Nadal will not be prematurely dismissed on hard court at the US Open. Besides, Nadal aims at all surface master.

Answer 3

Because on hard courts, the ball bounces more, shots are quicker, etc.  In Clay, Nadal has the experience, and he's a player that can hit extremely hard, which means he needs to step in and hit it, which takes more time, which is provided in clay courts.  IDK i'm just guessing hahaha that's what my couach says

Answer 4

The Hard Courts have too much impact on his legs compared to clay. That is why he had knee trouble at some games. He was used to sliding on clay.

I would not say he is bad on hard courts, just that he is better on clay. The main reason is due to the fact that serves don't play an important factor on clay due to the fact that ball bounces are slower and lower. Spin is more of a dominating factor on clay which is why we see his record breaking spins on all the games he played (clay courts or not).

That's why some balls are too fast for Nadal to hit and reasons why frequent Federer made so many aces on his serves against him. This is also why we do not see Nadal acing his serves but after the Wimbledon match, he is now making a weapon out of it. Those flat (no spin) balls that are super fast are used the most on hard courts and rarely used on clay.

But Nadal is now adjusting to the flat shots and starting to counter those bouncy serves. Heck! Maybe he will surprise us on hard courts like he did on grass :D !!!

Answer 5

Well, first of all it requires less leg movement. On clay and grass, your movement is very important. I would also say the grass at Wimbledon is slower than the hard courts, and the clay courts are of course slow as well. On clay for Nadal, spin is a huge factor of his game. Like the other answerer said, his good clay court players don't necessarily need a big serve to be good on this surface; they add a lot of spin to their shots allowing the ball to bounce up higher. The hard courts don't allow him to do that. They also have no variation: every bounce is the same. The hard courts weaken his topspin and make all of his strokes even less effective.

Hope that helped! =)

Answer 6

it all comes down to him prefering clay courts and trying to be the best on clay, since hard courts are so different, nadal has taken time to adjust to the US open and grass courts like Wimbeldon but i think that his improved serve will help him and the way he plays flat shots now will also be an asset and i think he will surprise us like he did on grass and go far in this tournament and go into the final, maybe even win. he is definitely gonna come in confident after that wimbeldon win

Answer 7

The court is against a lot of his tactics....servce, impact on legs and top spin. The way he uses top spin in grass and clay is very effective and hard to control, but in hard courts he it doesnt make much of an impact and a lot less effective. But he is one of the best hard court player currently.

Answer 8

its alot more impact on the hardcourt compared to grass and clay... nadal cannot move around as freely....

nadal uses alot of heavy spin.... and on hardcourt that is not as effective because most of the bounces are the same

his serve in the past did not help him much on hardcourt but now its very improved

i think he will do better on the hardcourts this year..