Storyline: Rafael Nadal may have lost weapons in the arsenal that led him to 14 Grand Slam victories, but he’s still ready to fight. It’s a quality that makes him a serious threat to anyone in the field. Written by Scott Brown, Old Greenwich, CT.
There’s no doubt that Rafael Nadal has struggled in the beginning stages of the 2016 season. He suffered a first round exit at the Australian Open against a player that he was 14-2 against, and he also lost two matches on clay, a surface on which he has been dominant.
Courtesy: www.bbc.co.uk
But let’s be clear: this isn’t another article criticizing the left-hander from Spain, either due to his lackluster performance or his misfiring forehand, which has produced an unusual number of unforced errors.
This is an article commending the Spanish #1 for continuing to do what he does best: fight. RAFA is known for his never-say-die attitude and unbelievable effort on court. That has certainly not vacated him.
An issue of late for Nadal is the incredible length of matches. Through the quarterfinal stage in this year’s Australian Open the average match length was 2 ½ hours and 2 out of the four matches went four sets. Earlier, at the Buenos Aires Open, Nadal lost to Dominic Thiem in a match that went almost 3 hours. Nadal had a match point that was squandered at 4-5 in the third set, making the upset all the more epic.
His most recent loss to Pablo Cuevas in the Argentina Open went 2/3 sets and lasted just under the 3 hour and 30-minutes. To give you a better idea of just how long that is, when two top ten players–Milos Raonic and Stansilas Wawrinka–went head-to-head in a highly anticipated fourth-round encounter at the Australian Open, they played an epic 5-set match that lasted 3 hours and 44 minutes (just 16 minutes longer than Nadal’s three set loss to Cuevas).
Courtesy: express.co.uk
If you thought that the clay surface was the root cause (because it allows for elongated rallies which, in turn, leads to longer matches) then how do you explain the 4 hour 41 minute 5-set loss Nadal suffered to Verdasco at the Australian Open? The match wasn’t just one of the longest matches at this year’s Australian Open, it was one of the longest matches in the tournament’s history.
Rafael Nadal may have lost weapons in the arsenal that led him to 14 Grand Slam victories, but he’s still ready to fight. It’s a distinct, appealing quality that makes him a serious threat to anyone in the field.
Be sure of this: in 2016 Nadal won’t go out of any match easily.
