Monday, July 4, 2011

Djokovic Stings Nadal with Familiar Form of Intimidation

Nadal shrinks away from the Djokovic challenge at Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal has fallen victim to the very same spell he cast over Roger Federer more than five years ago.

That was when the young Spaniard named Rafael Nadal became a splinter in the mind of the game’s most dominant player, Roger Federer. Back then, Federer was a tennis deity who firmly believed that no one alive could threaten him on any surface. Then came Nadal – And after just a few close losses, the seed of intimidation was planted deep into the psyche of Roger Federer.

From that point on, Federer forever lived in fear of Nadal. Federer was faced with an intimidation factor he never dreamed was possible and it cost him every time he stepped onto the court with Nadal. Nadal’s game played a factor in Federer’s problems, but the bottom line was, “Federer did not play like Federer against Nadal.”

Fast-forward to this year, and Rafael Nadal is writhing in the grip of his own inner demons – an intimidation factor he never thought possible, the bold and brash Novak Djokovic.

Like Federer, Nadal believed that if he was playing at 90%, he was unbeatable. But then Novak won a couple of close matches in a row and Nadal suffered what appeared to be a gradual decline in confidence. WRONG! What appeared to be a slow-moving virus is now a full-blown case of, “I’m scared of that guy!”

This is not to take anything away from the amazing brand of Djokovic tennis, but Nadal did not play like Nadal in the Wimbledon final. Nadal ran scared and instead of trying to win, he played not to lose. The Spaniard is NOW in huge trouble every time he steps of the court with the Serb.

What also makes this so interesting is the fact that Nadal had dominated Djokovic at the majors for so long. That era seems to be over. The Wimbledon final was only one match – but it is likely to set the tone for the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry for the next couple of years. Each Nadal loss against Djoko is worse than the one before, eerily similar to the decline of Federer.

Nadal played tentatively for the first time at a grand slam and it was a disaster. Without his fearlessness, Nadal is just another top three player who will win a stray grand slam here and there, more along the lines of Andy Murray.

What’s great for tennis fans is to see if Nadal can overcome it. Tennis history demonstrates that he probably can’t do it. But make no mistake, the torch has been passed.

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