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BRAIN GAME: RAFA TURNS MILOS’ MISSILES INTO BOOMERANGS

Craig O'Shannessy breaks down the Montreal final between Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic.

In the opening game of Sunday’s Coupe Rogers final, Milos Raonic fired a 149mph ace out wide in the Ad court that electrified the crowd and gave hope that he had the necessary tools to beat Rafael Nadal on such a big stage.

But the reality of constructing points, developing patterns, playing defence and breaking down an opponent’s will soon set in and Nadal dominated the match in all of these areas en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory to earn his 25th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown.

The real issue for Raonic was not how hard he could hit his serve but what he was going to do with the ball when it came back. Nadal’s masterly performance reminded everyone that the top of the food chain in world tennis at the moment is dominated by the best returners in the world – not the biggest servers.

Raonic may have one of the biggest flamethrowers in the game, but the reality is that more than half his first serves came back in play as did around 70 per cent of his second serves. Three quarters (64/86) of all points for the match needed further attention from the back of the court.

The majority of points in tennis are not like shooting an arrow, where it’s a quick one-way ride to a final destination. They are far more like throwing a boomerang as you need to expect the ball to come back and plan to be in the right position to receive it.

Raonic, 22, had an outstanding tournament in reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final and moving to No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, the first Canadian to do so. Raonic is the youngest member of the Top 10 and he will learn from lessons like Sunday’s as he continues his rise.

Raonic was on the back foot when rallies began. He hit 46 first serves for the match and was only able to win exactly half (23) of those points. Nadal, with a comparatively slower first serve, hit 40 first serves and won 28 (70 per cent). Of Raonic’s 23 first serves made, he only hit four aces and Nadal committed seven return errors. So he had to then construct 12 points against one of the best baseliners in the world.

Things were even tougher on second serves for Raonic, where Nadal only made four return errors from 23 serves. Raonic hit three double faults (Nadal none), leaving Raonic with 16 points to find a way through or around Nadal.

Returning serve was an issue for Raonic as well. He hit 20 backhand returns (15 first serve/five second serve), committed eight backhand return errors and only won four points for the match starting with a backhand return.

Once the rally began, it was Nadal’s forehand that dominated the back of the court with nine winners and only 10 errors. Raonic, who was looking to pull the trigger on almost every shot, only hit three forehand groundstroke winners and committed 12 errors.

Raonic was always looking to hit run-around forehands and protect his backhand, but he made six backhand errors from 19 total backhands in the match – about one in every three shots. Raonic did try and approach to keep the points shorter but could only win 50 percent (6/12) at the front of the court.

Raonic’s urgency to win the point before it really got started backfired against one of the most experienced baseliners in the world. Raonic’s inconsistency relieved pressure on Nadal. This empowered Nadal to play more aggressively after he neutralised the point.

Often times losses like these are inevitable and even necessary for younger players to help figure out the right mix of aggression and consistency. Raonic will be a better player for the experience and you expect he will soon win a match from the lessons learnt in Montreal. After all, everyone has to take their lumps.

BRAIN GAME ANALYSIS
Brain Game: Stan's Tactics Revealed
Melbourne, Australia


Stanislas Wawrinka combined a smart gameplan
and outstanding execution to take the Australian
Open final away from Rafael Nadal.

Stanislas Wawrinka played the best set of tennis of his life to set up a stunning victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Wawrinka had to overcome nerves and an injured Nadal to close out the match but a smart game plan and outstanding execution early on set up the victory.

Wawrinka described his opening set as the “perfect start” for good reason. He won 11/11 first serve points including 3/3 serve and volley points and was 5/5 at the net. “I was moving well, feeling really aggressive, and I played my best set for sure by far,” he said.

Wawrinka’s domination over the World No. 1 to lead 6-3, 2-0 was built around strategic primary patterns (used 7 or 8 times out of 10) when the score was close and then employ secondary patterns (2 or 3 times out of 10) when he was ahead and the scoreboard didn’t apply extra pressure to the riskier tactic. The key was making Nadal unsure what was coming by getting the mix right to disguise the master plan.

Primary - Attack the Forehand
Wawrinka built his set-and-a-break lead with the clever tactic of going after Nadal’s forehand wide in the Ad court. Nadal is always looking to gravitate to his right to turn a backhand into a forehand in the deuce court, so Wawrinka often went wide in the Ad court early in the point to take advantage of this subtle movement. Nadal committed five forehand errors during this period, all in the Ad court, and four of them were sliding defensively as wide as the alley. Wawrinka wasted no time attacking this area, winning the opening point of the match by twice pressuring Nadal deep and wide, forcing a forehand error long down the line.

Primary - The Backhand Cage
Wawrinka constantly put Nadal on defense by hitting to his backhand out wide behind the alley in deuce court exchanges, which had three main benefits for Wawrinka: Nadal had no backhand winners in the first 11 games, it made it tough to hit his favorite run-around forehand in the deuce court and it created a lower percentage, wider angle to go down the line to neutralize the point to Wawrinka’s backhand. Wawrinka’s curling, cross-court forehand essentially put Nadal’s backhand in a cage. Wawrinka broke Nadal for the first time at 1-1, 15/40 with one of these excessively wide rally balls that Nadal could only manage to slice back, bouncing before the net.

Secondary - Backhand Down-The-Line
This was a masterful tactic from Wawrinka that was a crushing blow to Nadal every time it landed. Wawrinka hit the down-the-line backhand winner for the first time at 1-1, 40/15 off a low backhand slice down the line from Nadal. It won Wawrinka the game with a huge exclamation point. He hit it like a rocket as a passing shot in the following game. Nadal could not handle it, leading to the first break of serve of the match. The next time The Swiss used it was with Nadal serving at 1-4, 30/15. Wawrinka crushed three consecutive backhands cross court then pulled the trigger down the line for a spectacular winner. Just the threat of having such a huge weapon without always using it creates doubt and uncertainty in Nadal’s baseline movement and shot selection.

Secondary - Serve and Volley
The scoreboard dictated this clever surprise tactic as Wawrinka did it six times in building his set-and-a-break lead – never when he was behind in the point score; once with the point score tied and five times when he was ahead in the point score, including twice at 40/0 where the pressure was minimised. Wawrinka won five of six and what was interesting was the way he went about it – a sprint to the net with no split step, which enabled him to get well inside the service line when he had to hit a volley.

Nadal’s back injury early in the second set ended Wawrinka’s spectacular play as he now encountered a new opponent who served softer, took more risks and used less patterns. While it seems logical that an injured opponent should be easier to play, quite often it’s the complete opposite as Wawrinka’s brilliant tactics no longer applied. Clarity was replaced with nerves, and as is often the case, Wawrinka hoped Nadal would miss.

Wawrinka battled himself during the third set, which he lost, and for most of the fourth until he got the final break of serve to go ahead 5-3 and then served it out for an incredible, rollercoaster victory. The best set of his life laid the perfect foundation for the best win of his life and the fulfillment of a dream to become a Grand Slam champion.