For the past few days, all the newspapers and bloggers have been talking about how Djokovic has now really got Nadal's number, having defeated him in 7 successive finals, including 3 Grand Slams.
I see it a bit differently and this is because Nadal has shown in the past how he constantly improves, learns from his mistakes and adds new dimensions to his game.
Case in point is grass and Wimbledon. In 2006, Nadal reached the final for the first time and gave Federer a bit of a fight before losing in 4 sets. In 2007, Nadal reached the final again and this time, armed with a better arsenal suited for grass courts, he took Federer to 5 sets before fading away rather quickly towards the end of the 5th set after missing an easy smash and failing to convert a couple of break point chances early in that set.
In 2008, they went to 5 sets again, but this time, Nadal had the mental toughness to just edge Federer.
Another case in point is the American hard courts and the US Open. It took Nadal a few years to achieve success there...he lost in the semi-finals in 2 successive years before adding a stronger serve to his repertoire and triumphing in 2010.
In the same way, Nadal has suddenly had to face a new improved Djokovic in 2011. This took him by surprise initially and he spent most of 2011 essentially playing the same game which had helped him beat Djokovic in the past. But by the 2011 US Open, Nadal was already trying to do something different and this final went to 4 hours 10 minutes. Then during the off season, he worked on other aspects of his game - serving in Djokovic's body for instance to neutralize his return of serve. And as a result we saw the longest final in Grand Slam history at 5 hours 53 minutes. So, as in the past, I see this as a case of Nadal getting closer to his goal and now believing that he is nearly there and can do enough to cross the line first in his next match-up, just as he must have felt when he lost the 5 set Wimbledon final to Federer in 2007.
Either way, all eyes will be turned to the 2012 French Open final, which represents Nadal's last bastion. He now knows what Federer felt like when he faced Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final. But Nadal is mentally stronger than Federer and that is why I think he will come out on top. I am not a Nadal supporter (Go Federer!!!), but can't deny that Nadal and Djokovic have brought in a completely new mental dimension into tennis...most people I spoke to compare their AO 2012 finals performance to that of a couple of punch drunk boxers keeping at it to the end.
I see it a bit differently and this is because Nadal has shown in the past how he constantly improves, learns from his mistakes and adds new dimensions to his game.
Case in point is grass and Wimbledon. In 2006, Nadal reached the final for the first time and gave Federer a bit of a fight before losing in 4 sets. In 2007, Nadal reached the final again and this time, armed with a better arsenal suited for grass courts, he took Federer to 5 sets before fading away rather quickly towards the end of the 5th set after missing an easy smash and failing to convert a couple of break point chances early in that set.
In 2008, they went to 5 sets again, but this time, Nadal had the mental toughness to just edge Federer.
Another case in point is the American hard courts and the US Open. It took Nadal a few years to achieve success there...he lost in the semi-finals in 2 successive years before adding a stronger serve to his repertoire and triumphing in 2010.
In the same way, Nadal has suddenly had to face a new improved Djokovic in 2011. This took him by surprise initially and he spent most of 2011 essentially playing the same game which had helped him beat Djokovic in the past. But by the 2011 US Open, Nadal was already trying to do something different and this final went to 4 hours 10 minutes. Then during the off season, he worked on other aspects of his game - serving in Djokovic's body for instance to neutralize his return of serve. And as a result we saw the longest final in Grand Slam history at 5 hours 53 minutes. So, as in the past, I see this as a case of Nadal getting closer to his goal and now believing that he is nearly there and can do enough to cross the line first in his next match-up, just as he must have felt when he lost the 5 set Wimbledon final to Federer in 2007.
Either way, all eyes will be turned to the 2012 French Open final, which represents Nadal's last bastion. He now knows what Federer felt like when he faced Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final. But Nadal is mentally stronger than Federer and that is why I think he will come out on top. I am not a Nadal supporter (Go Federer!!!), but can't deny that Nadal and Djokovic have brought in a completely new mental dimension into tennis...most people I spoke to compare their AO 2012 finals performance to that of a couple of punch drunk boxers keeping at it to the end.
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