Rafael Nadal Avenges Old Defeat With New Hard Court Game

Nadal has progressed to the finals at the Indian Wells defeating Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals. But it was not easy.

Nadal’s serve was being read by Del Potro so well that he was able to hit winners on the return straightway, mostly to the forehand corner. Nadal served better from the Ad court, often resorting to the wide service which fared better. Whenever Nadal was able to move him wide, De Potro had difficulty in remaining in the rally for long. But the top spin of Nadal was not making much impact on Del Potro. He was hitting searing ground strokes irrespective of the spin. But whenever, the ball was short, he had no different swing and the momentum was taking the ball away from the court. Del Potro was reading the ground strokes better than others. He was rarely out of step. Nadal's tendency to hit on the back hand as the stock shot and his serve on the T from the deuce court were rather predictable for Del Potro. Nadal’s top spin was sometimes coming in the hitting zone of De Potro whereas the shorter balls were forcing him to make adjustments in swing and pace.

The fifth game in the second set proved to be the important one. A great passing shot down the line from back hand enabled Nadal to break the serve on the third shot. Nadal's return was very short and Del Potro nailed the ball in the extreme corner but Nadal from the tram lines put the passing shot down the tram line for a winner.

Nadal was excelling in hitting winners, which is his new hard court game. Unforced errors galore from Nadal’s racquet at the beginning of the first set to concede break and go down 1-4. Once he controlled his unforced errors, the match became very competitive. The quality of tennis was very high with both players playing to their strengths.

Del Potro as usual was hitting through the ball. Since he hits the ball flatter, his balls generally go deep in the court. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, places so much top spin that sometimes the  ball falls short within the service box, giving opportunity for the opponent to go for acute angles. At 6’6”. Del Potro can take such short ball at its top and hit a bullet in a corner. This tactics worked for a while but once Nadal got into survival mode, his defence became more and more formidable. Del Potro often found that he had to hit two winners in a single rally. The tide turned at 4-1.Del Potro did not win any more in the first set. The second set too ended with the same score.

It was an important match for Rafael Nadal. The lop sided loss at U.S Open 2009 was in the minds of all as they thronged the court in the morning at the Indian Wells. The magnitude of that loss was perhaps the second biggest after his shock defeat to Robin Soderling at the French Open that year. In his 6-4, 6-4 win, the quality of tennis was much higher than in any of the matches played so far, including the nail biter against Ivo Karlovic. But the match also showed that Juan Martin Del Potro is truly back from injury.