Rafael Nadal meets Kei Nishikori in
the fourth round at Roland Garros 2013. They have met four times and Nishikori
has taken one set five years ago on the grass of Queen’s Club, London.
Nishikori is in good form having defeated Roger Federer in Madrid on clay last
month. Nadal has lost the opening set to both his opponents in the first two
rounds and was seen struggling in the last third round match too.
Nadal is not the same athlete he
was in 2012 or earlier. His serve is much below the one displayed in the
Wimbledon 2012. His top spin shots are still falling short, making him
vulnerable to angles with flat shots. This was amply displayed in the first
round against Daniel Brands, where he was often swept off his feet by the
blistering shot making from the other end. His backhand has the same weakness
as before. The only thing that can make a difference is that the surface is
clay. However, it would be simplistic to claim that his game is impregnable on
clay, since the game that defeated him both on clay in the French Open 2009 as
well as on grass in Wimbledon 2012 was similar. However Nishikori does not play
that type of game. The tall players like Daniel Brands or Robin Soderling or Lukas
Rosol do not find the top spin of Nadal as unplayable as others do. However
shorter players like Nishikori are not that comfortable.
Nishikori’s
game is similar to that of David Ferrer or Nadal himself. He does not play a
varied game and is likely to engage Nadal in longer rallies which might play to
the latter’s advantage. He has a
conservative serve which might not give much trouble to Nadal. He will seek
winners from the baseline which even the best baseliners have found difficult
to come by against Nadal. He does not have the shot power to blast Nadal off
the court.
There is
clear advantage to Nadal in this match. Nishikori can win if Nadal plays a very
poor game.
No comments:
Post a Comment