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Hit a service. Spray a forehand.
Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, and 6-1 to win his ninth BNL title from Italy's Internazionali in Rome on Sunday with his favorite 1-2 punch on a stroke right as first shot after the service way.
Djokovic was a little slower after two grueling games of three night sets to reach the final and did not have his mark speed around the pitch to counter Nadal's Serve +1 tactic on the clay court supreme court. . Djokovic spent most of the match trying to attack the weaker side of the backhand first, but Nadal always found a way to turn the backhand into straight shots, especially on the first shot after the service.
Nadal's Service +1 bottom shots
• Serve +1 Straight Shots = 42 (79%)
• serve +1 setback = 11 (21%)
Nadal hit 79 percent (42/53) of the forehands as first shot after the serve, instantly placing Djokovic on the ropes with heavy strikes that stretched the Serb towards the edge of the field. Why Nadal has such a thirst for forehands right after the service? It's a bigger weapon than his backhand that can inflict more pain and disguise with an open footwork that removes precious tenths of seconds of anticipation from his opponents.
Watch the highlights of the Rome Final:
Nadal's Service +1 Percentage Winner
• Serve +1 Straight Shots = Won 71% (30/42)
• Serve +1 Revers = Won 45% (5/11)
Nadal will not rush to turn a backhand into forehand, especially with this specific strategy to start the point. Of the 42 strikes + 1 striker Nadal scored in the match, more than half (23/42) were returns sent by short Deuce to the Spaniard who had just run.
Nadal's +1 service strategy provides so much power at the beginning of the point with the slimy combination of "one-two" that he is able to gain the point before it becomes a long exchange. which normally becomes much more uniform. The lethal combination of Nadal's +1 service ended the point in three shots or five shots, for a combined total of 63% (19/30) of the time.
Nadal Serve 1 Straight shot Total points won: Length of the rally
• 3 shots = 10 points
• 5 shots = 9 points
• 7 shots = 4 points
• 9 shots = 2 points
• 11 shots = 2 points
• 13 shots = 2 points
• 17 shots = 1 point
Djokovic, widely regarded as having one of the best defeats of all time, also did everything possible to hit a forehand as the first shot after the service. Serbs hit 71 percent (56/79). They served + 1 strokes for the match, winning just over half (52%) of them.
Length of the two-digit rally
A secondary domain of dominance for Nadal consisted of long double-digit rebounds, where 31 lactic acid-inducing points occurred. Nadal won a dominant of 71% (23/31) of these points with a superior defense far ahead on the field, forehand and backhand, constantly using Djokovic for the longest exchanges.
Djokovic managed 12 shots for the match, winning half of them. Five of the six lost throws he won were in single-digit trades, but of the six he lost, only three were three-digit, three in double-digit trades where he was trying to stop to hit Nadal from the bottom of the medal. court.
It was an unusual finale with an unusual score line between the two best players in the world. Would it be a dress rehearsal for a Sunday final in Paris in three weeks?
Editor 's Note: Craig O' Shannessy, author of ATP Brain Game, is part of Novak Djokovic 's coaching team.
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