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Has Djokovic Cracked The King Of Clay’s Confidence?
12 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Rafael Nadal is in deep trouble in the first round match, down to sets to one to John Isner, having lost two straight sets in tiebreaks after taking the opener 6-4. Isner looks like he knows he can and will win this match. Nadal looks desperate now on his favorite court, one which he has only lost one match (to Soderling).
Nadal is looking like a dominant champ who was shockingly knocked out in his last fight. Surely those KO losses to Djokovic in Madrid and Rome have Nadal wondering to himself, Am I really still the best? Maybe Djokovic is superior to me now on clay.
When the king begins to question himself, it’s a big problem. Like the great boxing champ Kostya Tszyu once told me in an interview, #1 is all that matters. #2 to #99 or whatever is all the same, there is little difference. #1 is the most important.
There does not seem to be much difference here between Nadal and Isner right now. Is Izzy playing the match of his life? Not really, though he is playing very well. Is Nadal playing badly? Not at all, Isner is always a tough opponent with his big serve and bulldog competitiveness. The problem for Nadal is, Isner may not be the only problem on his mind. Your thoughts?
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Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Big win for Nadal, he overcome major adversity. But he looks vulnerable. Herculean effort by Isner. Watch out for him at Wimbledon.
Flavio Carvalho · May 24, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Nadal needs to work on his backhand passing shots. He made silly mistakes on that today. Also, I see less and less magic shots from him. Watch any pre-2011 Federer x Nadal match and you won’t recognize Nadal today.
Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Agree Flavio, Nadal does not hit those freakish magic shots like he used to. I remember so many of them, especially against Djokovic where Nole would just fall to his knees or drop his head like How did he just hit that shot I can’t believe it!?! It could also be possible that Nadal has lost an iota of motivation and inspiration after his huge 2010 which was capped off by finally winning in NY. Now there are no more new frontiers to conquer, Rafa has done everything there is to do in tennis. Now it’s all about repeating what he has already done. Thanks for your comment and welcome to the site.
Dan Markowitz · May 24, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Nadal is not the same player. He’s lost a lot of his confidence.As much as Djoko’s gained, Rafa has lost. He actually lost a number of rallies with Isner once they were in a neutral position. Nadal better hope that this match is a wake-up call and he improves a lot.
Good win for Querrey. His matchup with Lubicic is now interesting.
Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2011 at 6:51 pm
And Nadal missed a lot of baseline shots which were pretty routine shots, for him anyway. Isner is a tough guy to play though. Remember Blake complaining in Delray after losing to Karlovic, he was saying it wasn’t even like playing tennis. Massive win for Sam, this came out of nowhere, he was in a real slump this year. This could Catapult Q now, he can take out Looby.
Michael · May 25, 2011 at 5:02 am
“Good win for Querrey. ”
Great win. But I wish the guy had more fire in him. Did you see that USTA interview. “Tough to be in Europe because he’s missing the b-ball playoffs and base ball is starting”. If I’m the coach (or worse, the sponsor) I weep when I hear that. FOCUS SAM. NOW IS YOUR TIME.
Dan Markowitz · May 25, 2011 at 11:24 am
Let’s not say it’s a great win. What is Kohlschreiber, but a guy who often plays well, but doesn’t win big matches and that’s why he’s ranked No. 42. If Querrey beats Ljubicic, again it’s a nice win, but Luby is No. 37 and Querrey is No. 28 so Sam is yet to face a really tough opponent.
Scoop Malinowski · May 25, 2011 at 11:57 am
I think it’s a great win considering the circumstances, how poor Qs results have been lately and losing so many close matches, to come out on top at a major against a dangerous player like Kohlschreiber is a very big win. But he has to capitalize on it by beating Ljubicic.
Andrew Miller · May 26, 2011 at 3:03 am
Nadal might be facing the Wilander effect: you have an enormous year and then just get beat.
Mitch · May 26, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Watching Andujar dominate this set third now against Nadal, I wonder if Djokovic has also cut down the aura of invincibility Nadal has on clay. At least in these first couple of rounds, his opponents don’t seem to have been as intimidated.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Not intimidated and Nadal is playing with some doubt. For Djokovic to beat Nadal in two straight finals in straight sets both times is irrefutable evidence that he is the supreme clay court player today. Djokovic will win the French Open.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2011 at 5:07 pm
The changing of the guard will take place next Sunday in Paris when Djokovic wins the tournament and becomes the new #1.