How Rafael Nadal Changed His Forehand

Unlike other players, Nadal opens his racket face slightly at the start of the backswing. Over the last couple of years, Rafael Nadal sat comfortably as world number 2 behind the greatest player of this generation. Roger Federer had been so dominant that he seemed nearly untouchable at the top of the men’s game, except on the red clay in Europe. While always clawing at the heels of Federer, Nadal never appeared to be a true threat on faster surfaces. He seemed limited to a more defensive style. The best strategy to beat the Spanish champion was to attack his forehand on faster surfaces. At times, players like Mikhail Youzny, Tomas Berdych and James Blake were able to overpower his counterpunching style with hard, flatter groundstrokes that penetrated the court and robbed Rafa of precious time. Then something changed. Nadal beat Blake consecutively on hardcourts in 2008, and beat Berdych on hardcourts as well. Suddenly the flat, aggressive style no longer appeared so effective against Rafa. What changed? Was it Nadal’s ever increasing confidence? Probably in part. Was it also his willingness to flatten out his backhand and go for much more aggressive shots? That was definitely a factor. Previously,…