How to Beat Nadal on Clay
It is no mean feat to beat Rafael Nadal on the dirt such as the red clay courts at Roland Garros. In fact, Nadal is undefeated at the French Open and has only lost twice in over 100 matches on clay the past few years. To beat Nadal on clay, the focus should be on hitting to Nadal’s strength, i.e. his forehand, in order to open up the court and hit forcefully to his slightly weaker backhand side. In addition, it’s important to reverse
Nadal from time to time since he moves so well side to side and hits a lot of winners when he is on the run, especially on his forehand side. During the service games, it’s also important to serve well down the center line in the deuce court and also out wide in the ad court to force Nadal wide on his forehand. Clearly, it’s not an easy task to beat Nadal on clay, but by focusing on Nadal’s strengths one can potentially more easily exploit his minor weaknesses.
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