French Open 2021: Why is Rafa So Good at the French Open?
I was chatting with my brother yesterday about a statistic I had posted on the Big 3 Twitter account.
Most Nadal fans are well aware of this mind blowing number. Casual fans, such as my brother, are often astonished when Nadal’s dominance at Roland Garros is relayed to them in such quantifiable terms.
The question from my brother was simple: how?
How has Nadal been able to be so dominant at the French Open? What is is about his game that makes him so difficult to beat?
There are many reasons why Nadal is so great at the French Open, but I laid out three to my brother in our brief conversation, which I’ll elaborate on here:
Ruling with the Forehand
Nadal’s success on clay is anchored by how he controls points with his forehand.
Nadal’s forehand swing path is much steeper in its upward angle to the ball than the rest of the tour. He hits the ball high over the net. The extreme trajectory of his shots produces bounces that peak at heights that his opponents do not experience from anyone else.
Nadal hits his forehand high and fast over the net, controlled by the high quantities of spin he is applying to the ball.
The clay courts at the French Open accentuate the impact of Nadal’s forehand. Clay courts cause balls to bounce higher than they would on other surfaces, providing the perfect environment for Nadal to take control of the points by taking the ball out of his opponents’ ideal hitting zone.
What is equally dangerous about Nadal’s forehand is the low risk nature of the shot on clay. On other surfaces, where he would typically be more aggressive and hit lower over the net, the margin for error is reduced. On clay, because Nadal’s goal is to hit high over the net, with as much spin as possible, he is hitting offensive shots that also are safe. This allows Nadal to comfortably and repeatedly play offense over the course of a two week tournament with a best of five sets format.
Baseline Defense
Nadal’s defense at the French Open is all about speed. The Spaniard, while not as fast as he was in his formative years, can still cover the back of the court better than his compatriots.
Nadal will plant himself well behind the baseline to return serve and then force his opponents to pound shot after shot after shot to win a point. We’ve seen Nadal drop sets to heavy hitting players at the French Open (i.e. Martin Klizan in 2013) but it is a near impossible strategy to use to attempt to win three sets against Nadal at the French Open.
Robin Soderling did it in 2009 and that’s it. Djokovic’s win against Nadal in 2015 was definitely more comprised of tactical point construction as opposed to the utilization of brute force from the ground.
On a slower court where Nadal has plenty of room to run behind the baseline, finishing points against him is as daunting of a task as there is in tennis.
John Isner nearly served his way to victory against Nadal in 2011, but even the greatest serve of all time firing at a very high level was not enough to take out Rafa.
Mental Battle
Beating Nadal at the French Open is the most difficult task in tennis history. There’s little question about that. Federer and Djokovic are a combined 0-7 against Nadal in French Open finals.
Every player facing Nadal at the French Open realizes they must play the best match of their life in order to win and even then, it may not be enough. The aura surrounding Nadal at the French Open is incomparable to anything else in tennis. One has to imagine that even Djokovic and Federer have had their fair share of doubts entering French Open matches with Nadal.
Once the match has begun, Nadal’s baseline defense wears the opposition down physically and mentally. How many spectacular shots must be hit against this guy to win a point? How am I supposed to do this over and over for four hours during a five set match?
When Nadal’s opponents do begin to get the upper hand, which rarely does happen, they know they are up against the most hyper competitive sportsman tennis has ever seen. Every point will have to be earned. Nothing will be given away. Knowing how challenging each point will be creates a layer of tension that is difficult to manage over the course of a long match.
Look for these three elements of Nadal’s game to play a major factor as he attempts to capture his 21st grand slam and his first ever lead over Roger Federer in the slam tally.