US Open 2011 Final

Having watched the final on Sky + and seeing that most of the comments made of how poor Nadal's serve was, yes I can agree to a large extent it was a factor in his defeat, but I will throw these 2 factors in:

Nadal's footwork was as poor as I have ever seen it. At times he looked ragged.

Djokovic punished the short stuff that Nadal threw over and this has been a large part of his success against Nadal. This is something Murray doesn't do nearly enough and Djokovic finds the long perfect length to hurt Nadal with pace.

This is why Nadal is finding it difficult to defeat the Serb.

Novak hits deep no matter who he plays, Fed in sets 3-5 had to keep half volleying Novak's serve returns from the baseline. Murray's problem is that he tries to out Nadal, Nadal himself. Novak plays one type of game for Roger and one type of game for Nadal. He realizes that he has to be the aggressor against Nadal and realizes that he has to force Roger to play longer points. The fact that he can play both ways is what has allowed him to accumulate a 10-1 record against the number #2 and 3 players in the world.

Hey socal. I think Novak plays a short length against Federer. A large part of that is to do with Federer hitting a flatter and deeper return so it pays for Djokovic to mix up his length which he does superbly.

Against flatter hitters Djokovic will play a much varied length, whereas against Nadal he attacks and reaps the rewards.

Do you really think Nadal's footwork was poor in those first 2 sets? He was lightening fast actually. Sure he was cramping in the fourth but before that he simply retrieved anything that Djoko threw at him.

Legend did you see how many second serves Roger had to pick up at his feet, Novak is a guy who hits deep and consistently regardless of the opponent. The problem with murray is he keeps trying to fit the square peg into the round hole against Nadal. His strategy is good for Roger, but it is disastrous for Nadal. Murray isn't going to win a defensive contest against Nadal. Why he doesn't realize that I don't know, again maybe its the fact that his coach is his buddy and not a real coach.