It Became Impossible to Hurt Him

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 12 months.

Nadal: Three Components Will Resolve My Future

Requested afterward to evaluate peak play from the king of clay, Djokovic started his response by detailing one in all Nadal’s most underappreciated belongings— excellence evolving his recreation.

The Grand Slam king mentioned Nadal turned a greater participant a couple of decade into his historic profession as a result of mounting harm pressured him to alter his fashion and grow to be a extra aggressive participant.

Three-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic mentioned Nadal made three main 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 obtained older.

“I truly assume that he has improved his backhand as he was getting older. He was most likely aware of, you already know, bodily struggles that he had, and he needed to be extra aggressive on the court docket,” Djokovic advised the media in Paris immediately. “So he was, you already know, nonetheless topspinning the forehand higher than anyone has ever carried out it, and he nonetheless saved that unimaginable protection and offense within the forehand.

“However I believe with backhand he was simply capable of deal with the excessive balls to his backhand higher than he was perhaps firstly 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 cut up the final eight conferences of their historic head-to-head sequence.

Relentless revision is important to Nadal’s ongoing evolution.

“As we speak I’ve to adapt my recreation to the brand new time and to my age,” Nadal mentioned after his run to the 2022 Roland Garros title. “That’s what I did throughout all my profession, simply attempt to adapt my recreation. 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 approach, so I would like so as to add new issues.”

Through the first decade of their rivalry, Djokovic mentioned Nadal was shifting 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 pressure, 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 increase made it “unattainable to harm him” in baseline exchanges on filth.  

“He was most likely shifting 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 modify,” Djokovic mentioned of Nadal. “I believe he did very nicely 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 turned, you already know, unattainable to seek 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 immediately 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.

Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty