By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, Could 30, 2024
Rafael Nadal wears his iconic bull brand on his chest, however he is a tennis chameleon at coronary heart, says Novak Djokovic.
Reigning champion Djokovic dismissed Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 charging into the Roland Garros third spherical for a males’s report nineteenth consecutive yr.
Nadal: Three Components Will Determine My Future
Requested afterward to evaluate peak play from the king of clay, Djokovic started his response by detailing considered one of Nadal’s most underappreciated belongings— excellence evolving his sport.
The Grand Slam king stated Nadal grew to become a greater participant a couple of decade into his historic profession as a result of mounting harm compelled him to alter his fashion and turn into a extra aggressive participant.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic stated Nadal made three major modifications about 10 years into his profession:
1. Beefed up his backhand
2. Adopted extra aggressive court docket positioning
3. Dealt with the excessive ball to his two-hander higher as he received older.
“I really suppose that he has improved his backhand as he was getting older. He was in all probability acutely aware of, you already know, bodily struggles that he had, and he needed to be extra aggressive on the court docket,” Djokovic informed the media in Paris at the moment. “So he was, you already know, nonetheless topspinning the forehand higher than anyone has ever executed it, and he nonetheless stored that unbelievable protection and offense within the forehand.
“However I believe with backhand he was simply in a position to deal with the excessive balls to his backhand higher than he was possibly at first of our encounters.”
Collectively, the long-lasting champions created probably the most prolific rivalry in ATP historical past. They’ve confronted off 59 instances with Djokovic holding a 30-29 head-to-head edge over Nadal.
Nonetheless, the soon-to-be 38-year-old Nadal received their final match on the 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinals and so they’ve break up the final eight conferences of their historic head-to-head collection.
Relentless revision is important to Nadal’s ongoing evolution.
“Right this moment I’ve to adapt my sport to the brand new time and to my age,” Nadal stated after his run to the 2022 Roland Garros title. “That’s what I did throughout all my profession, simply attempt to adapt my sport. That’s the one cause why at this second I’m nonetheless right here competing at a excessive degree.
“I do know throughout my profession, I’m going to lose issues on my method, so I would like so as to add new issues.”
Throughout the first decade of their rivalry, Djokovic stated Nadal was transferring higher and was so bodily imposing it felt like going through a tennis terminator on court docket. Because the two-time Olympic gold-medal champion aged and accidents mounted, he wasn’t the identical bodily drive, nonetheless he developed right into a knockout artist of each wings.
Whereas Djokovic leads the rivalry and the Grand Slam race, he says Nadal’s backhand enhance made it “unattainable to harm him” in baseline exchanges on grime.
“He was in all probability transferring higher and had higher bodily situation within the first ten years of his profession right here in Roland Garros, however then after that he needed to regulate,” Djokovic stated of Nadal. “I believe he did very effectively with the backhand notably. I discovered his backhand very, very, very constant and actually a giant weapon.The form of sample in opposition to Rafa was form of at all times looking for that backhand, get him out of the court docket and open up the forehand.
“However, you already know, then he improved a lot on that backhand and court docket positioning that it grew to become, you already know, unattainable to search out form of a weak spot from the baseline, you already know, to harm him.”
Djokovic appeared like his punishing self in his straight-sets win at the moment as he continues his quest for a record-extending twenty fifth Grand Slam championship in Paris with one other report in sight.
Ought to Djokovic attain the French Open fourth spherical, he’ll equal Roger Federer’s all-time Grand Slam wins mark with 369 main match victories.
Photograph credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
