"Cilic played pretty clean tennis from my view, but his game is far too “normal” to trouble Djokovic; you need to play more chaotic (like a Kyrgios or Federer) or completely starve him for pace, height, and angle (best demonstrated by Medvedev, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Dan Evans)."
That was a great article, as usual. Reading this paragraph made me wonder what's your take on the Nole vs Rafa matchup. It'd probably be fair to say that Nole has pretty much dominated him on hard courts after 2013, while still making the clay matches very competitive. But still, Rafa is undoubtedly one to trouble Novak. Would you think it's fair to say that he's been the most successful against him when he grinds less and takes more risks, thereby not getting sucked into Nole's baseline game?
Off clay I think Rafa needs to be aggressive with his forehand. A good sign of his confidence/form has always been the forehand up the line--when that was firing he was tough to beat. I think Rafa's forehand was at its best in those successful years of his -- 2008/2010/2013. Hardcourt/grass success coincided with simpler mechanics in my view.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by the simpler mechanics from his early years? What changed exactly with the stroke that has made it more difficult for him to hit the forehand DTL?
I'm curious why Rafa hasn't done better against Nole on hard court since their 2013 US Open final? Clearly Rafa has the tools and knows the tactics to win on that surface, but strangely it's been a complete drop-off in the H2H there since that match. I read somewhere that Rafa is on a long losing streak on even the sets played.
Hi Yang. It's a good question! Obviously Rafa had a lot of success against Djokovic on hard courts prior to 2013. People forget that Nadal led this H2H 14-4 at one point in 2009. Biggest change for me has been how strong Novak has become on serve over the years and has maintained his baseline excellence. Rafa has dropped off with his forehand consistency, but has added slice/variation, coming forward, and developed his own serve as well. The match-up just doesn't really hurt Novak either, with his excellent 2HBH able to tame and redirect that rafa forehand.
"Cilic played pretty clean tennis from my view, but his game is far too “normal” to trouble Djokovic; you need to play more chaotic (like a Kyrgios or Federer) or completely starve him for pace, height, and angle (best demonstrated by Medvedev, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Dan Evans)."
That was a great article, as usual. Reading this paragraph made me wonder what's your take on the Nole vs Rafa matchup. It'd probably be fair to say that Nole has pretty much dominated him on hard courts after 2013, while still making the clay matches very competitive. But still, Rafa is undoubtedly one to trouble Novak. Would you think it's fair to say that he's been the most successful against him when he grinds less and takes more risks, thereby not getting sucked into Nole's baseline game?
Off clay I think Rafa needs to be aggressive with his forehand. A good sign of his confidence/form has always been the forehand up the line--when that was firing he was tough to beat. I think Rafa's forehand was at its best in those successful years of his -- 2008/2010/2013. Hardcourt/grass success coincided with simpler mechanics in my view.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by the simpler mechanics from his early years? What changed exactly with the stroke that has made it more difficult for him to hit the forehand DTL?
check out this first post I did here:
https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/part-1-forehand-technique-and-swingweight
and here:
https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/death-of-a-forehand-part-iii
I'm curious why Rafa hasn't done better against Nole on hard court since their 2013 US Open final? Clearly Rafa has the tools and knows the tactics to win on that surface, but strangely it's been a complete drop-off in the H2H there since that match. I read somewhere that Rafa is on a long losing streak on even the sets played.
Hi Yang. It's a good question! Obviously Rafa had a lot of success against Djokovic on hard courts prior to 2013. People forget that Nadal led this H2H 14-4 at one point in 2009. Biggest change for me has been how strong Novak has become on serve over the years and has maintained his baseline excellence. Rafa has dropped off with his forehand consistency, but has added slice/variation, coming forward, and developed his own serve as well. The match-up just doesn't really hurt Novak either, with his excellent 2HBH able to tame and redirect that rafa forehand.