Clinical – this is perhaps the best way to
describe Nole’s game this far in the Open. Coming in as the defending champion,
though with much less than what he had the season before, he has wasted no time
on court in his first four rounds. He has been utterly ruthless and appears to
be single-mindedly determined to re-conquer what is his – thus far.
So does that mean he hasn’t displayed any
weaknesses? Not really; for while he has indeed been strong from both his
flanks, Nole has not come out of a match without miscuing or mistiming his
shots. His serve has been erratic – with a yo-yo effect typical of him, often
making him slog it out at crucial times. While against Benneteau he served a
below-par first serve percentage of 59% and was able to win 82% of these first
serves, the question does remain whether he will be able to do the same against
Del Potro?
Although the Serb leads in their overall
head-to-head 5-2 and won their last hard court encounter in the Cincinnati Masters’
semi-finals, just the previous month this same year, the 23-year old routed him
in straight sets in the deciding Olympic Bronze medal match. With a
year-to-date statistic that’s evenly matched between these two, Nole’s focus and consistency
throughout the course of the game along with his shot selection and execution
will be the key for him to reach the semis. Any loose shot, Del Potro and Del
Potro could very well swing the match to his advantage. Similarly capitalising and consolidating on Del Potro's vagaries during the match will be a determining factor during the match proceedings.
Removing the Argentine from his comfort
zone on the court – just as probably Andy Roddick did till the second set
tie-break while enforcing him to go for shots that don’t bring out his best tennis
playing acumen, would be a vital and pivotal factor for Nole, however close the
match might prove to be ultimately.
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