Nitro Nadal in the Zone—Nathan’ Notice
By: Nathan M. Cuny
Why…I think we have a new super hero—Nitro Nadal, knocking out player after player. On Friday the 20th Nadal moved on to the Australian Open’s fourth round after defeating Lukas Lacko 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. His heavier racket has optimized his serve and swing to higher standards. He finished the match hitting 81 percent of his first serves in play and won 85 percent of those points. Nadal did not drop a single set, breaking Lukas Lacko six times. The match was another quick one ending in 1 hour and 41 minutes.
One by one with an injured knee Nadal has annihilated his opponents with no problem at all. It was over the weekend when Rafa first heard the crack soon followed by sharp pain in his right knee. Nadal was deeply concerned. However, with determination and medical tests showing minor damage Nadal taped his knee as heavily as his weighted racket and launched himself into three consecutive wins. Following his most recent win Nadal was interviewed about his current state, he coyly replied, “I am playing well. If you are playing well, things can be a little bit less difficult. If you are playing bad, every match will be very, very difficult. I’ve played three matches at very good level. Today was one of the best. [It was] solid, without mistakes, [I was] comfortable with the serve [and] having good returns.”
Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009 but every year since has withdrawn in the quarter finals due to injury. Oddly enough his latest injury happened while sitting in a chair, but he is not allowing his knee to hinder him. Nitro Nadal is thirsty to stare his next opponent in the eye where the inferno burns in his own—there they see imminent defeat. Through all three matches Nadal has converted 18 breaks of serve against his opponents and lost a mere 25 games.
Djokovic all the while is encroaching on Nadal’s territory riding his hard hitting playing style and titanic confidence, hoping to oust Nadal’s superb playing. Nole has broken the likes of Paolo Lorenzi and Santiago Giraldo. He held Lorenzi completely off the scoreboard in the 2nd and 3rd set while also beating Giraldo pitilessly 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 later on. For players like Nadal and Djokovic pain at times leads to greatness. The sharp pain in Nadal’s knee is lending the same sharpness to his mind, but even greater is the pain of defeat. Defeat is the pain that drove Djokovic to greatness and brought Nadal to his feet. The pain of defeat may just bring Djokovic to Nadal’s.
Djokovic faces No. 81 Nicolas Mahut before moving onto the fourth round. Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, 7-6⁶, 7-5, 6-3 soon after Nadal’s third round win. Federer is on the same side of the draw as Nadal for first time at a major since 2005 and is one step closer to the injured and dangerous beast. Nadal will soon devour Federer after his bout with the now exhausted Feliciano Lopez who barely defeated John Isner after a demanding five set match.
Topics: Australian Open, Rafael Nadal
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