Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly one of the best players to have ever swung a tennis racket and his haul of French Open titles might never be beaten.
Nadal was the king of clay during his career and 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles came at Roland Garros.
It proved a sad day last year when Botic van de Zandschulp defeated him at the Davis Cup to bring down the curtain on a glittering career.
Nadal’s rivalry with Roger Federer will never be topped and he played a seriously big part in the golden generation of tennis.
The Spaniard was like poetry in motion when he was on the court and when it comes to entertainment value he was right at the summit.
Goran Ivanisevic points out what Rafael Nadal used to do with his backhand
In a recent interview with Croatian TV, Ivanisevic was asked what made Nadal so special when he was out on the court.
He’s pointed out something about Nadal’s backhand that a lot of people didn’t always see and shared how that altered his game somewhat.
He said: “Well, first of all he’s not a ‘classic’ left hander. We left handers try to do things differently. But in terms of tennis, there aren’t many at the top level and it’s tough to play against them because they move differently, the serve is different, the spins are different and everything changes. Your whole game plan shifts when you are playing against a lefty. I never liked playing against left-handers.
“I know how they think so I would end up overanalysing everything and end up driving myself crazy. Everything just feels off when you’re up against them, so it’s definitely an advantage. I think his uncle sensed that and knowing the kind of phenomenon that Nadal is, he understood it.
“People always talk about Nadal’s forehand but when you watch his backhand, it’s actually like a forehand with his right hand. That is why his backhand is so powerful. He uses his left hand but his right hand is the key. For my backhand, my left hand must finish the stroke.
“When you watch him, some people might not have noticed that in a few of his backhands, it’s as if he smashes the ball like with a hammer. The ball flies at around 800 kmph, that kind of speed. His movement, his technique. It’s all special. He never had a crazy good serve but because he’s left-handed his serve was still super effective.
“I wouldn’t say he was one of the best serves of all time but he was solid. He would pull you way out wide and then you’re defending with a backhand or with a forehand. If you were right-handed that serve would not have been half as effective. But being left-handed added 50% more to its impact.”
What comes next for Nadal remains to be seen
Since retiring, Nadal has been taking some time out, spending quality time with his family and leaving tennis well alone.
The Spanish star feels unlikely to go into coaching and much like Roger Federer, perhaps he will simply sail off into the sunset and choose to keep himself to himself.
It’s a real shame that Nadal couldn’t wave goodbye to tennis on more of a high, with the popular perception suggesting that perhaps he held onto his career a little bit too long.
Tennis still has a place for Nadal in some capacity and hopefully he will do something which keeps him involved in the game once he’s enjoyed his retirement a little bit.
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