Don't know how long back I wrote and conducted one poll on one of the forum in orkut about the weakest link of overall game of Rafael Nadal; found it was his serve. And I was not the only fellow who thought this.
Overwhelmingly 86% people agreed. Now when Rafa won US Open it must be a special grand slam for him because more than anything else he has won here because of his serve. Remember he had eight aces to Djokovic mere five! I never saw Nadal reaching finals without dropping sets earlier. Honestly so far Rafa was at the top because of his talent and his overall minus service game which despite his weak serve never let his opponents overpower him.
Overwhelmingly 86% people agreed. Now when Rafa won US Open it must be a special grand slam for him because more than anything else he has won here because of his serve. Remember he had eight aces to Djokovic mere five! I never saw Nadal reaching finals without dropping sets earlier. Honestly so far Rafa was at the top because of his talent and his overall minus service game which despite his weak serve never let his opponents overpower him.
May be, he was knowing it. Had been a simple situation; he would have rectified it back when he turned professional. It was time when he started his career in our own Goldflake Open, Channai. But the biggest problem I thought in this journey was that he is by nature a right hand player. (Though I am not sure). His personal life reflects as if he does his most of the jobs with righthand. It is really very difficult to generate the power in your hand which you use rarely. In my case it happens for I too am a southpaw but due to Indian traditions I was forced to do most of the tasks with my right hand except one. All my life I have found my right hand weak than my left. Anyway, presently he is serving like Djokovic and Federer if not Andy Roddick or John Isner.
Now the time has come that his game can be personified as a complete package which includes power, technique, and mental toughness on a platform of talent.
He is playing extremely good these days. He will have to maintain his peak level of health and free from injuries. Keeping the service at the same pace he kept in US open is going to make the path more difficult for his rest of opponents as Novak said in final that with passage of time, Rafa is getting better and better.
So road must be easy ahead as finally he is out from the shadows of Federer. Getting rid of the tag of "Only Clay court " must have also been very relieving.
Despite all this we the Nadal fans, know that it is not just power we love in his game. More than anything else it is the talent in him which makes it joyful watching him hurling down those impossible shots which the player at the receiving end watches in disbelief…………………including us.
