7 Reasons Rafael Nadal Can't Seem To Defeat Novak Djokovic

It’s not so much Rafael Nadal can’t seem to beat Novak Djokovic—it’s that he can’t beat him, period. With an iron fist, Djokovic had a year that was among the best tennis has ever seen.

One of the many quality opponents Djokovic had to beat in order to cement his impressive season was Rafael Nadal.

Before this year, Nadal had Djokovic's number.

But with improvements to almost every aspect of his game, Djokovic, already dominant, has become unbeatable.

The world watched Djokovic completely handle Nadal in the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.

After his defeat, Nadal looked utterly dazed and confused for the first time ever. He admitted he had to come up with new methods to match Djokovic, who looked as though he could yank Nadal any way he chose.

Nadal may have been confused, but the rest of the world was not surprised.

Here are the reasons why Nadal can’t beat Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic Has a Better Backhand

Djokovic has arguably the best backhand in tennis. Opponents used to hit to Djokovic's forehand, because his backhand was just that good.

Now, opponents are scratching their heads looking for a weakness, because his forehand has improved.

Nadal runs around his backhand, which causes him to be out of position for the next shot. Nadal is fast, but no one is fast enough and conditioned sufficiently to move side to side in a five-set match against a quality opponent like Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal’s Spin Does Not Bother Novak Djokovic, Especially on Hard Court

The spin on Nadal’s shots may work well on clay, but that leaves three other Grand Slams where spin is not effective.

Nadal hits the ball way too softly for hard courts, making it easy to pounce on his shots, and Djokovic did just that.

The result is that Nadal has to stave off put-away shots and is left doing a lot more running to stay in the point.

In His Head

It used to be every time Nadal stepped on the court, a shiver went down the spine of his opponent. He was one of the most intimidating players on tour.

Now, Djokovic owns that title. Every opponent wants to stay as far away as possible from Djokovic, Nadal included.

Novak Djokovic Has a Better Serve

If you said almost everyone in the top 25 had a better serve than Nadal, I wouldn’t argue. His second serve is a joke, and he needs to improve it if he wants to win a Grand Slam other than the French Open.

Djokovic, on the other hand, used to have serve troubles but has gone through a transformation. Although his serve isn’t the best, it still is above average and gets him out of trouble.

Novak Djokovic Has Better Return of Serve

Both players have excellent return of serves, but the edge here goes to Djokovic. There is no weakness in either his forehand or backhand return game.

Nadal can leave the ball up sometimes, making it easy for put-aways.

Novak Djokovic Improved His Conditioning

Djokovic's endurance was always questioned before this year. Adding strength and endurance has helped boost his standing even more, as he is not afraid to get into long rallies anymore.

Novak Djokovic's Confidence Is at An All-Time High

I never saw Djokovic panic this year. Even after being down two match points to Roger Federer, it looked like Djokovic had the game in his hands.

Confidence comes and goes, but right now it is as high as the clouds for Djokovic.