7 Reasons Rafael Nadal Will Be the Player to Beat at the US Open

It seems every time a grand slam is about to be played only three male tennis players are on our minds.

Coming up with a list of players who are the ones to beat—other than Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal—strains even the strongest mental capabilities.

Federer still makes these lists because he is consistent. However, fans are deluding themselves with their faith in Federer. He will not win another grand slam. He is simply too old to compete with Djokovic and Nadal.

Nadal and Djokovic are unbeatable and unless another player can prove he can beat them on a consistent basis, we are going to be reading many more articles outlining the reasons why Nadal or Djokovic is favored to win a grand slam.

Although Djokovic won Wimbledon, Nadal still has won more grand slams. Also, he has a winning record against Djokovic.

Nadal is the favorite. Here are the reasons why.

7. Already Won the US Open Once and Has Improved Since

Nadal won his first US Open last year and hasn’t stop improving. In the beginning of his career, Nadal was known as a clay court specialist. Now, he has won all of the four major grand slams. He could potentially go on to win more grand slams than any other player in men’s tennis.

Although Nadal has only won the US Open once, that number could easily have been three. He made it all the way to the semi-finals in the two previous years before he won the Open and both losses were against the eventual champions Roger Federer in 2008 and Juan Martin Del Potro in 2009.

Nadal has improved his serve and made adjustments to his groundstrokes. Now, he rarely makes a mistake on the forehand or the backhand side. He doesn’t run around his backhand as much and his positioning on the court is much more effective.

6. Hasn’t Lost to Del Potro Since 2009

Another favorite is Juan Martin Del Potro. However, after getting embarrassed by Del Potro in the US Open semi-final in 2009, Nadal has done extremely well against him.

With a 2-0 record against Del Potro—only losing one set and winning five—Nadal has shown that he doesn’t like to be beat.

He was able to beat Del Potro not because his game was markedly better, but because his strategy was and he made the proper adjustments to beat Del Potro.

Nadal incorporated a low backhand slice because he knew that even though Del Potro moves tremendously well for a big man it is still hard for him to bend down and hit a low backhand.

Tennis is a game of adjustments and Nadal has adjusted to Del Potro. Del Potro will have to alter his game to win.

5. Has Something To Play For

Nadal lost his No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic after Wimbledon this year. Learning that he would not be ranked first at the US Open, Nadal must have been frustrated. He is one of the most competitive players in sports and this is a challenge Nadal is not likely to back away from.

Nadal will be driven not only to regain his ranking but also to defend his US Open title.

4. Needs to Beat Djokovic

There is no question that Nadal is aware of recent rumblings that Djokovic is better than he is.

Djokovic has dominated Nadal this year and at times Nadal has looked like a deer in the headlights in his matches against Djokovic.

Despite the fact Djokovic has won four times this year against Nadal, Nadal has a career record of 17-11 against him. Nadal also beat Djokovic in last year’s US Open final in a pretty routine four-set match.

With the amount of pressure Nadal is under due to Djokovic’s rise to the top, it will be a real test for him.

Just a short while ago, Nadal was in the position Djokovic is today. He was the rising star against Federer. Federer was feeling the pressure to demonstrate that he could overcome Nadal. Federer crumbled.

The question today is whether Nadal will react the same way that Federer did years ago. I think not. Tennis is a mind game and Nadal is one of the most mentally tough players on the tour.

Could Nadal be like Federer and think of Djokovic as an unbeatable nemesis? I doubt it. Djokovic beat Nadal in one grand slam final. Previously, Nadal was 5-0 against Djokovic in grand slams.

Losing one grand slam match does not merit passing the torch to Djokovic. Winning consistently in grand slams does.

3. Best Counter-Puncher

Good players don’t often have too much trouble getting difficult shots back, but Nadal is one of the best. 

What makes counter-punching so effective, especially for Nadal, is his shot creation ability. He uses an opponent’s power to respond with an even better shot, making opponents thinks twice about hitting the ball hard.

2. Fit/Strongest

If I could pick anyone to go five sets and win, it would be Nadal. The thing is, Nadal doesn’t need to go five sets because he is so good.

When an opponent plays Nadal, he knows it will be one of the most grueling matches of his life.

First, he realizes before he even gets on the court that he will probably lose. Next, he has to deal with the prospect of long points because Nadal is a human backboard just waiting for an opponent to make a mistake.

1. Consistent/Best Return of Serve

Nadal’s serve may need some improving, but he is one of the greatest return of serve men to play the game.

He has cat-like reflexes and his court sense is as good as Federer’s used to be. It also doesn’t hurt that he is incredibly fast.

It’s not just about getting the serve back, Nadal also returns the ball in the right place most of the time. With his topspin Nadal has no trouble forcing opponents behind the baseline, automatically giving him the advantage.

The only obstacles to Nadal winning the US Open are Djokovic and Del Potro. If he can get past them, he will cruise to victory.