Rafael Nadal: 7 Reasons for Roland Garros Victory 2020

Rafael Nadal v/s Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros 2020.

Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, and 7-5 to go level with roger Federer on 20th grand slams titles. Nadal wins the 13th Roland Garros titles and brought up his 100th victory in Rolland Garros against just two defeats. 

Here are 7 Reasons, According to us, that we think helped Nadal to the Roland Garros victory! 

1. Superior Dominance in Roland Garros

Nadal showed his superior dominance in Roland Garros and won the 13th Titles in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, and 7-5. Roland Garros 2020 final match data and statistics says that Nadal dominated the french open title by far as Nadal won total points 106 and Novak won 77 points, Nadal won total games 19 where Novak managed to win 7 games, total games in a raw won by Nadal was 6 where Novak managed to win 2, total points won in a raw by Nadal was 7 and Novak was 5, Nadal won 12 service games where Novak won 6 and the biggest differences were in unforced errors,  Nadal made only 14 unforced errors where Novak made 52. 

2. 180* Change in Nadal most favorite Tactics   

Nadal is considered to be one of the best players of all time on clay courts. Nadal likes to play long points and aggressive baseline games from the back of the court and dominate the points with heavy topspins shots. But, Nadal has different tactics for the Roland Garros final, he made 180* change in his most favorite tactics, like 1)  Nadal paid more emphasis on short points.(Nadal won 53 points against 25 Novak, in the first 4 shots ) and 2) He started playing very close to baseline ( against playing from deep courts). We can say that these tactics worked very well as we saw in the match Nadal dominated the final match by winning first set 6-0 in 48 min, 2nd set 6-2 in 51mins and 3rd set 7-5 in 1 hour and 2 mins and claimed the RG2020 title in 2 hours and 41 mins.  

3. Extreme control on free points – Unforced Errors 

Nadal played one of the best tennis in the finals of the Rolland Garros against Novak Djokovic. Nadal played smartly and made sure that he doesn’t give many free points to his opponent. Nadal made only 14 unforced errors where Novak made 52 unforced errors which were 38 more unforced errors than Nadal. Free points are like a lottery in big matches and most of the time it can change the outcome of the matches. in the final of Roland Garros, Nadal played smartly and made very few unforced errors where Novak made 52. Nadal made only 2 unforced errors in 1st set, 4 unforced errors in second set and total 8 unforced errors in 3rd set.

4. Effective use of Neutralising shot – strong defense is equally important 

Nadal is known as one of the best aggressive baseline player in the world and has one of the best defense in the ATP tour. Nadal in this final of Roland Garros displayed one of the finest skills on how to neutralize the best-attacking shot. Nadal’s heavy topspin shot with high trajectory (loopy shot) helped him to neutralize Novak’s best attacking. There were many situations in the points where Nadal was pulled off the court, Nadal very effectively used neutralizing shot by hitting heavy topspin with high trajectory and put himself back into the point and placed himself in a position where he can dominate and eventually win the points.

5. The extreme level of Physical fitness 

Nadal is considered to be one of the best and fittest athlete in the ATP tour. Nadal won Roland Garros 2020 title without dropping a single set in the hole tournament and showed excellent physical fitness. Nadal had played 5 setters match many times in the past and have noticed him jumping up and showing his excellent energy in the 5th set of the match, specially towards the end of the match. Nadal’s fitness is one of the best among all Atp Players and it is one of the key reasons for his amazing successful journey in tennis. 

6. Marvelous Court coverage 

Nadal is considered to be the king of Clay court and he shows the class in the Roland Garros match against Novak Djokovic. Nadal most of the time, was in control of the point and indicated that he can put himself in a position where he can run around and convert more balls to the forehand and dominate the points. Nadal serve and +1 shot used it very effectively and dominate the RG2020 finals as we can see in statistics, Nadal won 53 points against 25 in the first 4 shots and also dominated long points (9+ shots) by winning 27 points against 21 Novak.

7. Ability to play short and long points effectively

Nadal – The king of clay, loves to play long points from baseline, he is known for his heavy topspin shots in ATP tour. Nadal showed his class in RG2020 tournament and showed the world that he can upgrade and modify tactics and strategy to adopt to the new demanding situation very effectively whenever needed. Nadal displayed remarkable control on both, short (0-4 shots) and long points (9+ shots) in the final match of Roland Garros 2020. Here are some data and statistics that may help to understand our point. In the finals of Roland Garros 2020, Nadal won 53 short points ( 0-4 shots) ( against 25 Novak ) and also 27 long points (9+shots) against Novak’s 21 points. The ability to play short and long point effectively can give some extra advantages and upper hand in the match. In first sets, Nadal won 15 (Novak 3) short points (0-4 shots), Nadal won 8 ( Novak 9) longs points ( 9+ shots ). In 2nd Set, Nadal won 16 (11 Novak) short points and 8 (Novak 3) long points, and in 3rd set Nadal won 22 (11 Novak) short points and 11 ( Novak -9 ) long points.

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