Home » Expert: “When Rafael Nadal is behind, he does…”

Rafael Nadal made his Monte Carlo Masters debut in 2003 at the age of 16, making the main draw and making an outstanding Masters 1000 debut by making it to the third round. Before falling to Guillermo Coria in straight sets, Rafa overcame world No. 7 Albert Costa.

After defeating Coria in four sets two years later, the young Spaniard went all the way to win the first Masters 1000 title at the age of 18. In order to win his second Monte Carlo championship the following year, Nadal defeated Coria, Gaudio, and Federer. He followed that up with another victory over Roger in the championship match in 2007.

Nadal defeated Federer in the third consecutive Monte Carlo final to win his fourth title in the Principality and pursue a fifth straight triumph in 2009. After two hours and forty-three minutes, Rafa defeated Novak Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo final to win his fifth consecutive championship. Rafa defeated the Serb 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

After the match, Rafa expressed his satisfaction with his performance, noting that he had always enjoyed taking part in this competition to build confidence before the clay-court season began. It was their eighth encounter on clay, and Nadal‘s seventh victory. He had seven breaks in his total of 14 chances, and he led in sets one and three.

If they had played a few more games in the decider, two outstanding point guards added countless lengthy rallies, and the game would have gone longer than three hours. Djokovic made an effort to remain aggressive and force his strokes, but he struggled to overcome Nadal‘s defense and lost ground in the third set after a strong showing in the second.

“It’s crucial for me to begin the clay season with a victory; it boosts my self-confidence. Given that it’s one of the greatest tournaments and that some of the top players in the world have participated for many years, I never anticipated to win five titles at Monte Carlo.

Zverev considers Nadal

Rafael Nadal is constantly changing how he plays, according to Mischa Zverev. Zverev praised Nadal for being unexpected and using surprise strategies like a serve and volley to stun his opponent in an interview with tennis magazine.

“The players are getting ready for lengthy rallies, especially Medvedev. You play the point after a serve and return almost just like a penalty. This strategy is known as “developing the case from behind.” Rafa continually analyzes the game and is aware of when it is a good idea to introduce unexpected events.

When he is behind, he frequently does something novel or unexpected, according to Zverev. He abruptly tosses in a serve and volley after a really drawn-out game where the score was advantage-deuce-advantage-deuce,” he continued. He acts in an anxious circumstance when you least expect it.

Or, as is more common with the forehand, he employs his halt. Rafa playing serve-and-volley all the time would not be effective.