Watch Rafael Nadal as he returns serve, especially on clay.What you'll see is that Nadal stands way back to return and then hits a high, looping, heavy topspin, return off both the forehand and backhand.
Nadal is basically saying that he is so confident in his ability to chase down a second shot, that he is choosing to give himself as much time as possible to rip a heavy return.
Many other players stand in tighter and return with an abbreviated stroke, using the pace of the serve.
On clay, I think it's definitely worthwhile to try Nadal's strategy aspecially if you have heavy groundstrokes which can do some damage if you take a full swing.
Nadal also returns very high over the net which dramatically increases his percentage of returns in play. Again, this makes him theoretically vulnerable to serve and volleyers, but considering that there are no good serve and volleyers on tour, it's seems to be a pretty fair bet.
We'll analyze further aspects of Nadal's game in the next few posts but, as you watch him play his matches, start to watch his shot selection and how he almost always goes for high percentage shots.
Until next time,
Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How To Return Smart Like Rafael Nadal guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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