Australian Open 2012: 4 Things Rafa Nadal Got Wrong Against Djokovic

In the match of the year it's difficult to fault either player, but Rafael Nadal had his chances, and he had more of them early on. Novak Djokovic is not Roger Federer; throughout the match, Nadal seemed to forget this, as he meshed two separate game plans together.

The match was ultimately won by Djokovic more than it was lost by Rafa...but that is not how Nadal typically loses a match. In a match where Nadal had innumerable chances to secure a dominant lead in the early going, how exactly did the trophy slip through his fingers?

1. Nadal Tried to Fight Fire with Fire

Novak Djokovic is 6'2'', with long arms and legs. He has the ability to "free-hit," as John McEnroe described throughout the coverage of the match. That means that he can hit the ball with incredible force without trying too hard, due to the proportion of his limbs.

Rafa Nadal cannot do this; he is smaller and more compact. Against Djokovic, Nadal went away from his more unique ability to hit extreme angled shots and move around the court more with his speed and instead got into power-hitting competitions, losing both points and energy in the process.

2. Nadal Tried to Wait Until the Fire Went out

Through the middle sets, Nadal became passive, and it worked.

However, by proverbially "flipping the switch" in the fifth, Rafa wasn't quite as successful as Djokovic at revving up his game because he had been so defensive in previous sets. To Novak's credit, he played the same game throughout the match, success or failure, and it ultimately ended up being the former.

3. Nadal Didn't Want to Get Burned by the Fire Again

Coming off of six straight finals losses to Djokovic, Rafa was cautious this time around. Rafa is never cautious.

In a match where neither man played the first set they wanted to, Djokovic got over his nerves...

Rafa was not nervous but lacked confidence in his game. Playing outside of his own abilities, Rafa could not find his bread and butter style of quick, calculated confidence when it mattered most.

4. Nadal Didn't Throw Enough Water on the Fire

When Rafael Nadal does not unload all of his muscle on the ball, he often hits it short. Most notably, on Rafa's second serve, he hits it short and relies on placement to gain an advantage in the point.

Novak Djokovic happens to be the best man in tennis at capitalizing on weaker serves, as he has an uncanny ability to approach the net and catch the ball early with the server off guard. This was the key to Novak's breaks and, ultimately, allowed him to conserve energy with shorter points in his breaks, setting up a better chance to hold serve thereafter.