If you’re not Roger Federer, and even if you are, how does one beat Rafael Nadal?
I had James Blake over Rafael Nadal at this week’s tournament in Toronto. Didn’t happen. Blake lost to Richard Gasquet. Nadal is out and but it was Tomas Berdych instead of Blake who was responsible. He beat Nadal in the third round today, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
If you’re not Roger Federer, and even if you are, how does one beat Rafael Nadal?
1. Be tall. Tomas Berdych is six foot five inches tall so Nadal’s huge topspin doesn’t bother him as much as it does the shorter players. Nadal puts wicked topspin on the ball and it bounces up and over the right shoulder of Federer when he hits a backhand. This cannot be overemphasized, Nadal’s lefty forehand goes right into the weakest part of most players’ games. There’s another reason this is important and that brings us to number 2.
2. Stay up on the baseline. The further Nadal can push you back, the harder it is for you to hit winners and the more likely you are to get into a rally with him. No one in the game can rally with Nadal. Federer tried it by staying back at this year’s French Open final and look where it got him. In the second set, Berdych had to play further behind the baseline because Nadal ran him around and that gave Nadal the set. Of course, you don’t have to stay at the baseline which brings us to number 3.
3. Attack, attack, attack. If you don’t, Nadal will get you into a rally, he’ll find his rhythm, and it will be all over. Berdych doesn’t have Federer’s net game but he hit enough approaches (mostly to Nadal’s backhand) and volleyed well enough to keep the pressure on today. It also helps that Berdych hit his ground strokes very hard which kept Nadal from controlling the point.
4. Have a good head-to-head record. Berdych won their only previous match on hard court. He knocked Nadal out of the first round of the Cincinnati Masters event last year. They also played each other as juniors. It’s a big deal because Nadal and Federer rule professional tennis, they’ve won all of the slams and all but one of the Masters Series events this year. If you go in thinking you’ll lose, that’s more than enough edge to give the match to either of them.
5. Play the big points well. Berdych converted four of his six break points, an excellent percentage.
6. Serve big. This is a good way to keep Nadal from getting into a rally. Berdych won 15/16 of his first serve points in the first set.
7. Attack Nadal’s second serve. That is, if you see any, because Nadal sometimes has a ridiculously high first serve percentage. Which brings us to number 8.
8. Be lucky. Being lucky means catching Nadal on a day when his first serve is off. Nadal’s first serve was ineffective in the first set – he won only 50% of his first serve points. In the third set, Nadal only got half his first serves in. Altogether, a very lucky day for Berdych.
9. Keep your cool. If you win the first set and then lose the second, don’t get down on yourself and start thinking negatively because Nadal has the toughest mind in the game and he’ll immediately take advantage. He doesn’t need much to get him started and once he gets going, he’s hard to stop. Berdych has not shown similar mental toughness. Instead, he’s one of those dreaded “promising players with a lot of talent.” That means he plays exceptionally well now and then – he won last year’s Masters Series event in Paris – but not consistently. Berdych lost the second set but kept his cool long enough to take advantage of Nadal’s third set serving problems.
All in all, you have to be lucky and be good. Berdych was both today.
You can read an earlier column about Berdych here. You can read about the Federer – Nadal final at the French Open here.