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Serve 50% to 60% of your 1st serves down the middle to his body (use the slice serve to better handcuff him)! If he is standing 2 or 3 meters behind the baseline, which he usally does, use your wide serves to bring him even more out of the court and than you have the open court for winners or attacks or even drop-shots! Once you have him covering the wide balls apply your bread and butter down the center line for aces. You know the rest. - Serve and volley more often, specially when you are up 40-0 and 40-15 you should do it to get easy points. Use your great hands and feel to drop and angle volley as the opportunities arise..
- On clay BE MORE INTENSE/aggressive AT THE NET use your quick foot work, unlike you may think, you will not get tired, the focus and the adrenaline will do it for you. - EVERY second ball Nadal hits on the groundstrokes is short and bounces inside the service line. Get inside the court at every opportunity either hit outright winners or attack with the slice, make him run to either corner and move into the net for the kill. - In short balls you can also go in with a SLICE forehand and backhand (I suggest down the line!). Close in a bit more in your volleys, force him to try the lob and nail him with the smash. Remember that you are the only player in the WORLD that I can say to use a slice to approach on both sides as a tactical weapon! And you can!
- With your variety of strokes you have myriad of choices, but to keep tactics in perspective; when Nadal serves, once you get him on the run to one corner (and you are inside the court) mix your SLICE attacks with your fantastic drop-shot to the other corner and move into the net. (You will have him run about 15 meters to get to the ball and no way he can pass you at the net!)
- Do not give Nadal any rhythm hit less topspin backhands when trading shots cross court. Use your great slice backhand (SHARP/HEAVY deep and short to keep him of balance). Use the topspin to hit winners especially when you have him out on his forehand side and you want to hit a winner down the line! - Use your great slice backhand low on his forehand to get the short and high cross from him, be ready to be inside the court and either hit the winning forehand down the line or the approach and volley. - Nadals 2 Serve is ABSOLUTELY attackable, put plenty of pressure on him, SLICE/CHIP/TOPSIN backhand or forehand down the line or cross court if it makes sense and go to the net CONSISTENTELY. Constant pressure on that 2 serve and you will get double faults when it gets tight. To ad insult to injury, on his second serve hit the occasional drop-shot (in points you do not care to loose). Another factor you must take in your favour, is that you are far more skilled then Nadal and if you play the cat and mouse game (in points you do not care to loose) 85% of the times you will win those points. Psychologically this will hurt your opponent more than anything else! On the other hand tactically it makes sense to bring Nadal unwillingly to the net, where he is like a fish out of the water! Roger I do think you are indeed talented and you have played some flawless tennis matches e.g. Huston and Wimbledon, you can do the same on the clay but, your level of constant pressure has to raise on the stuff and your intensity as well. You have mastered your ego plenty but there is work to do on the clay. What I said above should have been crystal clear in your mind when you played the finals of the French, unfortunately it was not.
Good Luck and Welcome!
Sergio Cruz
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