federermagic -- Nadal UBER FOREHANDS (Bonus!)

[aznboypinoy]

What's that? No windmill forehand?

[s900203]

Time to switch back Nadal!

[enigma81581]

If he played like this he might have a chance against Djokovich.....otherwise its not looking too good for him :(

[biggestfanofroger]

first time i see nadal hitting trough the ball. impressiv

[anismessi]

CRAZY NADAL

[solopiece]

i was almost 2min into this vid when i realized that this was all one match. cool forehands!

[BratBugarin]

Nole does not give him chance to attack like this. Rafa is now gentle as lamb.

[Petsmar02]

this forehand is better then the one he uses now

uncle tony... why did u change it? WHY?

[LOcoast2coast]

@Petsmar02 yeah seriously, i think he would've been a multiple time grandslam champ if he didn't change his forehand...

[Csibon13]

@LOcoast2coast lol i mean he has 9 of them right now.,..so...

[XizelSF]

@Petsmar02 Old comment, but because it was Fed that took the game back then, not Djokovic. He turned his forehand from a universal weapon to a specific anti-Fed forehand.

[zxnamikaze]

Who's who?

[bulldozer421]

if nadal takes chances of shot making like federer boy oh boy....thn he would be amazing......not the best.....but much more better.....:)

[ikky85]

what did hewitt says after this match?

[weig1021]

Wow check out the followthrough...so different from today...he hits so much more reverse whip forehands, following over his head.

[fedex19912000]

Wow, he doesnt use a completely straight arm here. So he developed it sometime after this.

[BTuan1]

Whenever I watch Nadal from 2004 backwards, I keep wondering why he had to change to defensive style. Though nowadays he is trying to become more and more aggressive. Was it because his aggresive style wasn't successful? He beated Federer in Miami 2004 using equally forceful attack and vigorous defense, though.

[JiraiyaSama86]

@BTuan1 People back then played with more spin. This landed more often in his former western strike zone. They weren't hitting as big. Also, he's nt as young anymore, so can't afford as much running around.

[LeaderLiquid]

I think Roger has so many difficulties against Nadal because when Nadal hits the ball with that top spin to his backhand (one-hand backhand), is harder and more difficult to attack/defend than a normal backhand. (The ball goes higher and Roger can not attack very well.)

[timafi]

Federer and Nadal stretching Hewitt like that are the reasons why Lleyton had hip surgery.I mean damn!

[LeaderLiquid]

@timafi Who knows what would happen if Federer and Nadal weren't at the same tennis epoc... I mean, in these years Roger (2003 > 20xx) with his Grand Slams (how many without Rafa?!) and then the retirement of Rog here we are Nadal (20xx + 1 > 20yy).

[3timeMVPNash]

I liked Rafa more when he played like this. I hate the way he plays now.

[hqthang87]

why doesn't Nadal choose to play this style at this time, hit the ball flatter with less spin, especially on hard court... Can anyone tell me know please...

[JiraiyaSama86]

@hqthang87 People don't play with as much spin to him anymore. Players against him now play flatter strokes to him, forcing him to lasso a bit more. Besides, there's nothing wrong with the topspin he plays. he gets more angles. Plus, his forehand is actually a bit less forceful. The forehands you see here are somewhat more forceful and can injure the player himself unless he lasso's it.

[hqthang87]

@JiraiyaSama86 Thank you for your comment, now I understand a little bit. That's a new experience.

[Sasuke338901]

this was back when he was trying to emulate Moya, no?

[lovehopefaith1000]

the talent at an early age is incredible against a player who was no.1 at this stage.

[bingkk]

nadal doesn't have the cojones to hit such forehands anymore.

those DTL winners hit when the ball is low and near the tramlines -he will ALWAYS hit with his lasso stroke these days -

it's all about margin for him now

[azumi149]

man, nadal was so much more exciting to watch back then. notice the swing on his forehand, the racket travels across the body, not on top of his head.

[dodododa]

He was more aggressive back then. If he'd stuck with this he'd be so sharp by now nobody would be able to touch him.

Oh... and holly crap I'd forgotten how fast Hewitt was.

[ozroke1]

How much can change in such a short time. This was only 6 years ago. Hewitt had a bad year, but was still one of the best players at the time (even Federer hadn't become Number 1 yet) and Nadal was just coming out of the juniors, hadn't even won his first tournament. Now, Nadal's won 7 Grand slams and is back at number 1 again while Hewitt is more or less unofficially retired.

[rolf85]

uuuh, more speed maybe is more like it, because of his follow trouhg here, pace is what the ball does after the bounce, nowadays its more pace. wonder how nadal's clay career would be if he kept hitting his forehand like this

[tennisstevo32]

so ridiculous!

[FairwayJack]

I'm a believer

[yoootooobeee]

It's like the twilight zone. Never seen Rafa hit like this before. Some of those winners weren't even great angles... just too much pace to handle.

Notice how he finishes his forehands over his shoulder instead of whipping them over his head.

[fibe99999]

what an ultimate competitor . he was 17 here playing against undoubtedly one of the best players at that time and he literally takes it to hewitt. he believes in himself so much its fascinating.

[305Andyy305]

pause a 1:17 as you can see it completeley semi western

[JiraiyaSama86]

Maybe that's what will save his knees, if he could take more balls at their semi high to highest point, and avoid using the compact form too much. After all, the weight of his upper body can be a major cause to his current injuries. And if, he could run a lil more lighter.

[JiraiyaSama86]

His forehand's form changed. Became much more looser and violent swinging like Roger's, only way more violent. He didn't bend down as low here. But when players start hitting flatter and faster against him, he was forced to retreat a little more back, make a more compact swing by bending down lower, and adapt a newer more consistent form. Remember- during this time players didn't really use his western grip against him.

[305Andyy305]

@JiraiyaSama86 every thing is right here exept he doensnt use western he almost has his his arm completley extented and that is phtsically impossible with a western grip just try it.

[JiraiyaSama86]

@305Andyy305 actually it's very possible to hit with full extension with western grip. Nadal holds his racket like a frying pan actually. And you are actually only half rite on the grip. 3:17 looks more western. So it may be that his grip lies btwn semi western and western. Just like how Fed is between eastern and semi-western.

[305Andyy305]

yea he actually does have that grip between semi and western

[dvsk89]

It'd be so much more fun to watch Nadal if he did this every match

[jvcheech]

He was hitting the ball earlier than he does now

With an around his right arm finish rather than the whip

forehand finish that finishes above the head head

More like Federer does on hardcourts

[akmedyaya]

I totally agree !!

The forehand was much flatter and more pace

I dont understand why he stopped playing like this !!

He would have been less injured and also would have won a US open by now!

[manco82]

Who cares, he stopped playing like this.

[therobz98]

so who won this match? :)

[RogFedFan1]

hewitt who went on to play roger

[modem09]

I knew those muscles werent that useless! At least at some point in his carrer...

[tyruk]

Jesus! Is this Nadal, or is it Fernando Gonzalez wearing a very convincing Nadal mask?

[1hoyoung]

yes this is fnally uploaded once again

thx fedeermagic

[Perser12]

If Nadal had improved this Playing Style he would easily won more than 20 GS

[nitrousdaking]

Its almost strange to see this nadal I wouldn't say I'm shocked just a little stunned. He hits the ball so clean when struck flat it boggles my mind why he doesn't hit like this in the present. But it may come down to his way of training and developing his game off of clay

[Oxygene13]

Moonballer. Let's get this right, shall we? :D

[kusta345]

not at all ur an idiot if you really think that nadal is a pusher. give me evidence that he's a pusher and i will believe you.

[therobz98]

wow, the no sense of humour idiots strike again.

[kusta345]

if thats your humor than im sorry you have really bad taste. It seems to me everyone dislikes your "humor"

[therobz98]

how is that bad taste? and anyway humour comes across very poorly over the internet as you may well know...

[FederM0N0]

wow

[3timeMVPNash]

This is really close to Federer's game. The ability to hit a winner from anywhere on the court at any time. If Nadal had kept this style I may think differently about him.

[georgebabolat]

so diferent from today powerful strokes not so much top spin more buitiful

[kahzam123]

0.57 looks federer's inside out forehand. If nadal kept this ofensive style maybe could win more.. and stay healthy ...

[galloper3]

There's something Federer-like about his forehand here, maybe it's just because he's wearing the same sort of outfit Fed was wearing at this AO ( I think).

[nanospeedreloaded]

so much more pace! so different from today

[tennis21000]

ya it's because he doesnt lift enough on his backswing. For some reason's hes made it a straight back retarded takeback. He's changed it back some but not enough IMO. Oh well i wish someone would tell him lol

[rolf85]

intresting to see at 3:34 that he didnt do all his rituals before serving like he's doing now, especially the picking

[Alexes1233]

Jesus christ, man he can hit that ball :D

[asdfuogh]

Damn, I would have been a fan of this..!

[Barreto101]

His serving stance has changed so much over the years. Nice video.

[azasel]

Que desagradable es ver como un canal de videos de Federer y para fans de Federer de repente metan videos de nadal.

Que decepcion.

[Empir37]

instead, is a good thing.... narrowminded people.... tsk

[Grimmjowjaguarjack]

wow, thanks Federer Magic!!! I was waiting for this one...

Man, how different was Nadal's game back then... he was hitting his forehand in a totally different way from 2004 to 2005. At 2006 I think he started to hit in his more heavy/spinning typical way.

[davd1986]

Rafa, the boy genius!