From a fellow Rafan, this is unbelievably refreshing to see how you have articulated the components that make Rafa who he is beyond the lazy stereotypes and metaphors.
I think that the surface-level insights we have seen over the years can be attributed to multiple reasons but I think you hit the nail-on-the-head when you refer to the obsession with results. As a fan, I spent so long obsessing over Rafa's success largely because of the naively-predetermined expiration dates that kept being assigned to Rafa's career. With each injury/tournament withdrawal, the value on the results and the need to have bragging rights over fans of the other two greats seemed to rise in importance.
I don't know why it happened exactly, but some time in 2018, I started to appreciate the beauty of the game itself and the actual art and magic behind the results of the greats. Nuances in footwork patterns, variations in ball speed, trajectory, height, spin and other details started to become vastly more interesting than the number of titles won (it obviously helps when your favourite is winning).
All of this to say that I am thankful for the level of detail and insight you have put into demystifying Rafa's game. I (and I'm sure other tennis fans as well, not just Rafa's) am excited for this series.
A few questions regarding Rafa's playing style:
1. What does Rafa's forehand follow-through do for his range? I used to think that his "classic" finish over his right shoulder was deployed to flatten out his strokes but then I have seen him flatten his shots with his "buggy-whip" finish.
2. How and why does Rafa seemingly hit differently in practice vs matches? I'm not 100% sure if it's "harder" or "flatter" (or both) but there's a difference there that seems to be beyond a matter of match vs practice pressure.
1. That's usually a matter of how you are positioned and how the ball is coming to you. Generally, players would use the "buggy-whip" finish when pushed on the backfoot, or in some wide position, to create an acute angle off the spin—racquet coming up from under the ball. Nadal tends to use that finish more than others, though... and in more situations (especially when he was younger). So, I'm guessing the times you see him hitting a flatter ball off it are when he gets on top of the ball. I'm no biomechanics expert, but this seems to make sense to me.
2. Yeah, this is pretty famous. He's more natural in practice. It's where he can experiment without pressure. He does tend to hit flatter, with the across-the-shoulder finish.
I found this snippet while scrounging for tidbits about young Nadal in May.
Davydenko's cute English (Rome, 2007):
"In the practice, he play different game. In practice, he hitting so hard and try to do short points. In the match, completely different. In the match, he running more and more control, more top spin. He try to bring all ball back and high topspin. That's what different between practicing and match, he's different tennis."
I would imagine this freer "practice self" came out more in his later years, when he knew he had to go for broke to keep up with the younger crowd and nimbler Djokovic.
Although I'm a lifelong Federer fan, I really enjoyed this extensive writing on Nadal. It covers so many aspects from his game, while being backed by the stats and sources.
It makes me appreciate him and his accomplishments even more.
Another wonderful Dragon cook session, waiting for the next part(s)!
This is an amazing read.
From a fellow Rafan, this is unbelievably refreshing to see how you have articulated the components that make Rafa who he is beyond the lazy stereotypes and metaphors.
I think that the surface-level insights we have seen over the years can be attributed to multiple reasons but I think you hit the nail-on-the-head when you refer to the obsession with results. As a fan, I spent so long obsessing over Rafa's success largely because of the naively-predetermined expiration dates that kept being assigned to Rafa's career. With each injury/tournament withdrawal, the value on the results and the need to have bragging rights over fans of the other two greats seemed to rise in importance.
I don't know why it happened exactly, but some time in 2018, I started to appreciate the beauty of the game itself and the actual art and magic behind the results of the greats. Nuances in footwork patterns, variations in ball speed, trajectory, height, spin and other details started to become vastly more interesting than the number of titles won (it obviously helps when your favourite is winning).
All of this to say that I am thankful for the level of detail and insight you have put into demystifying Rafa's game. I (and I'm sure other tennis fans as well, not just Rafa's) am excited for this series.
A few questions regarding Rafa's playing style:
1. What does Rafa's forehand follow-through do for his range? I used to think that his "classic" finish over his right shoulder was deployed to flatten out his strokes but then I have seen him flatten his shots with his "buggy-whip" finish.
2. How and why does Rafa seemingly hit differently in practice vs matches? I'm not 100% sure if it's "harder" or "flatter" (or both) but there's a difference there that seems to be beyond a matter of match vs practice pressure.
1. That's usually a matter of how you are positioned and how the ball is coming to you. Generally, players would use the "buggy-whip" finish when pushed on the backfoot, or in some wide position, to create an acute angle off the spin—racquet coming up from under the ball. Nadal tends to use that finish more than others, though... and in more situations (especially when he was younger). So, I'm guessing the times you see him hitting a flatter ball off it are when he gets on top of the ball. I'm no biomechanics expert, but this seems to make sense to me.
2. Yeah, this is pretty famous. He's more natural in practice. It's where he can experiment without pressure. He does tend to hit flatter, with the across-the-shoulder finish.
I found this snippet while scrounging for tidbits about young Nadal in May.
Davydenko's cute English (Rome, 2007):
"In the practice, he play different game. In practice, he hitting so hard and try to do short points. In the match, completely different. In the match, he running more and more control, more top spin. He try to bring all ball back and high topspin. That's what different between practicing and match, he's different tennis."
I would imagine this freer "practice self" came out more in his later years, when he knew he had to go for broke to keep up with the younger crowd and nimbler Djokovic.
Thanks for reading!
Although I'm a lifelong Federer fan, I really enjoyed this extensive writing on Nadal. It covers so many aspects from his game, while being backed by the stats and sources.
It makes me appreciate him and his accomplishments even more.