Post by Jeffer on Jul 20, 2010 11:04:13 GMT -5
Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon title against Tomas Berdych and his 8th Grand Slam title.
Berdych was doing well at the start of the match as I didn’t see any signs of nervousness. Grand Slams finals can sometimes start really bad for the player who is in his first final and meets an experienced opponent with a few Grand Slams under his belt.
But at 3:3 the problems for Berdych started to mount. He hit one shot with the frame – possibly because of a bad bounce, made one unforced error and Nadal hit a down-the-line passing shot – and Berdych was 0:40 down.
Nadal of course knows exactly when to attack the ball with courage and hit a winning backhand return at 15:40. That’s what makes Nadal right now the undisputed #1 tennis player in the world.
He NEVER even attempted a winning backhand return in the previous 3 games when Berdych served and yet he went for the shot on the first break point opportunity he had!
His mindset at that point is NEVER the worry of missing the shot. His mindset is always about taking the chance that he has.
His is looking to succeed and hits the ball with no doubt or hesitation. And once you approach your shots with such positive mental state, you’ll make them in most of the cases.
Nadal then switched into another gear in his next service game and in the next return game. His forehands were even more aggressive and more accurate and Berdych found himself in defense most of the time.
And even when Tomas was able to control a rally he committed an unforced error too often which meant that his mental state was not as calm as at the beginning of the match. This resulted in another break and Nadal closed the first set 6-3.
What’s really interesting is that Nadal had a rare letdown at the start of the second set. He made two unforced and for him unusal forehand errors and that gave Berdych a break point. Nadal countered it with a good serve and a forehand.
The letdown effects were still there as Nadal committed only his second double fault. Nadal had to serve a second serve on the break point but his classic lefty serve was too much for Berdych.
I think that Berdych did not adjust to the extra curve and slice that Nadal (or any other left-hander) can hit on the serve out wide.
His returning position was the same as if he was returning agaist a right-hander and that’s just too far from the ball which a left-hander can serve out-wide.
It could prove to be the key tactical mistake that would determine the winner of the match.
Nadal was still not playing well (still not reaching maximum concentration) and was fluctuating between good points and poor serves and double faults.
What’s really worrying – if you’re a Berdych fan – is that Nadal still won that game. ;(
Both players held serves until 5:5. At 5:5 on Nadal’s serve Berdych looked to attack much more with his forehand and was looking to break. Unforced error on the second point was probably the key to losing that game so Nadal managed to hold and went 6-5 ahead.
Tomas was definitely feeling pressure when serving at 5-6 as he made 3 unforced errors with his forehand missing by just a little. It’s exactly the difference between winners and losers.
Berdych was doing well at the start of the match as I didn’t see any signs of nervousness. Grand Slams finals can sometimes start really bad for the player who is in his first final and meets an experienced opponent with a few Grand Slams under his belt.
But at 3:3 the problems for Berdych started to mount. He hit one shot with the frame – possibly because of a bad bounce, made one unforced error and Nadal hit a down-the-line passing shot – and Berdych was 0:40 down.
Nadal of course knows exactly when to attack the ball with courage and hit a winning backhand return at 15:40. That’s what makes Nadal right now the undisputed #1 tennis player in the world.
He NEVER even attempted a winning backhand return in the previous 3 games when Berdych served and yet he went for the shot on the first break point opportunity he had!
His mindset at that point is NEVER the worry of missing the shot. His mindset is always about taking the chance that he has.
His is looking to succeed and hits the ball with no doubt or hesitation. And once you approach your shots with such positive mental state, you’ll make them in most of the cases.
Nadal then switched into another gear in his next service game and in the next return game. His forehands were even more aggressive and more accurate and Berdych found himself in defense most of the time.
And even when Tomas was able to control a rally he committed an unforced error too often which meant that his mental state was not as calm as at the beginning of the match. This resulted in another break and Nadal closed the first set 6-3.
What’s really interesting is that Nadal had a rare letdown at the start of the second set. He made two unforced and for him unusal forehand errors and that gave Berdych a break point. Nadal countered it with a good serve and a forehand.
The letdown effects were still there as Nadal committed only his second double fault. Nadal had to serve a second serve on the break point but his classic lefty serve was too much for Berdych.
I think that Berdych did not adjust to the extra curve and slice that Nadal (or any other left-hander) can hit on the serve out wide.
His returning position was the same as if he was returning agaist a right-hander and that’s just too far from the ball which a left-hander can serve out-wide.
It could prove to be the key tactical mistake that would determine the winner of the match.
Nadal was still not playing well (still not reaching maximum concentration) and was fluctuating between good points and poor serves and double faults.
What’s really worrying – if you’re a Berdych fan – is that Nadal still won that game. ;(
Both players held serves until 5:5. At 5:5 on Nadal’s serve Berdych looked to attack much more with his forehand and was looking to break. Unforced error on the second point was probably the key to losing that game so Nadal managed to hold and went 6-5 ahead.
Tomas was definitely feeling pressure when serving at 5-6 as he made 3 unforced errors with his forehand missing by just a little. It’s exactly the difference between winners and losers.
