Movement Matters on Clay for Ivanovic, Nadal
New Serbian World Number One, Ana Ivanovic, has made great strides in the past year literally and figuratively. On Saturday at Roland Garros, Ivanovic claimed her first Grand Slam title at the 2008 French Open in her third attempt in a Grand Slam final. One of the biggest improvements in Ivanovic’s game is her movement. Ivanovic not only ran faster around the court this year, but she also hustled extremely well. On clay, that extra hustle coupled with the ability to hit offensively from defensive positions helps players such as Ivanovic win almost a point a game on clay. Rafael Nadal has won four
straight titles at Roland Garros in part because he reaches that one or two extra balls a rally and thereby forces his opponents to hit another shot. As a result of his hustle, sometimes Nadal gains the upper hand again in the rally or drawsan unforced error from his opponent in that rally or a subsequent one because they press and try to do too much. Ivanovic will never be a speedster around the court such as Nadal, who is one of the fastest ever, but by adding increased speed and stamina, Ana was able to put more pressure on her opponents en route to the 2008 French Open title.
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