What does it take to become a clay court superstar? Who better to analyse then the champion of clay himself, eight time French Open champion, Rafael Nadal.
1) Endurance
When anyone thinks Rafa, they should think fitness. The extreme amount of sweat that Nadal produces time and time over again is just a message of his commitment, determination and willingness to compete.
Putting it simply, Nadal has incredible endurance helping him last those tough matches against the worlds best.
2) Patience
When a hard court specialist plays Nadal on clay, you tend to see Rafa’s opponents miss a lot of balls.
This is due to how patient Rafa is before he goes for the winner. So many times we will see Nadal a foot behind the baseline in defence, before he makes his way forward to take control of the rally.
Patience is a huge asset to a clay courter. Knowing when to play defence and sit back, or play offence and come forward is vital as going to big to early against a clay courter can result in a counter-punch.
Secondly, by playing more patient on the clay you can find your rhythm, and this can make a player more dangerous because once he has found his rhythm on clay he can start to free up.
You must be prepared to play long, tiring and hard fought points if you want to beat a clay courter at their own game.
3) Movement/Footwork
Arguably the most important asset to have on clay. As discussed before Rafa is great at turning defence to offence. However he is only able to do this with quality footwork.
It is common to see a hard-courter sliding all over the place and being unbalanced with their shots, this effects their timing, rhythm and eventually their confidence. Nadal is always so pro-active on the court with his movement.
A classic example of this is when Rafa uses his feet to change a regulation backhand into a topspin forehand. Nadal’s supreme movement results in the opponents struggling to finish off each and every point.
4) Variations in strokes
Rafa has four main strokes apart from his serve. The backhand, his topspin forehand, the backhand slice and the drop shots he can play off both sides.
Rafa will look to expose his opponents movement by using all of his shots, but particularly important to a clay courter is their forehand and drop shots. It is known that the spin Nadal gets on his topspin forehand is ridiculous.
However, if you thought it was hard on hardcourt, what about clay? This shot is so effective for Rafa, and he uses this shot many times to move himself forward to dictate the point.
The variation in this shot is critical. He can clearly hit a sliding forehand out wide to a right handers backhand, however it is his forehand down and his inside out forehands that are super impressive.
If you haven’t seen Nadal versus Verdasco in the 2009 Australian Open, that is a must watch and an example of two amazing forehands.
Secondly, the drop shot also exposes movement and the endurance of his opposition. Such an effective shot on clay, but being to predictable with it can result in consequences.
Finally, Rafa’s serve is not only quick, but can slide and bounce viciously away from his opponent giving him a first advantage in the point.
5) Mental Strength
This is the key reason why he has this amazing record on clay. It seems as if half the time an opponent walks onto the clay, they are already beaten psychologically.
The difference between a potential great and a great is their mind and Nadal has outstanding mental strength.
Despite the conditions, the situation of the game, a bad line call etc. Nadal is always fighting and never giving in, always believing and full of faith. If you want to beat Rafael Nadal over five sets at Roland Garros, you must have mental strength.
It is just a given.
To all the hopefuls of trying to beat Nadal at Roland Garros this year, good luck. Rafael Nadal is a sporting champion, and possibly the best ever we will see on clay.
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