Nadal’s forehand, a swing to marvel at

Spaniard generates as much as 4000 revs per minute when he whips it; Federer notches around 2500

At the Delhi association courts, there is a revelation waiting for anyone who cares to come and experience 14 Grand Slam singles title winner Rafael Nadal practice. The 30-years-old is known for his intense workouts and Tuesday was no different as the Spanish Davis Cup team turned out for their first sweaty outing. India play Spain in the World Group play-off tie beginning this Friday and with entry free, a packed house is expected. There is a beeline for passes with everybody’s boss and uncle looking to come.

While the intensity of a match also depends upon the quality of opposition, and the Indians are unlikely to just wither and cave in, it’s in practice that the actual rawness of Nadal’s game comes through. Nadal’s six-and-a-half feet of prime manhood weighing 85 kg and when he begins to get into the groove of his strokes, the pace, the depth and the angles are enlightening.

THE SOUND

The whirr of the tennis ball as it leaves Nadal’s racquet sounds significantly different. Tests have shown that Nadal generates as much as 4000 rpm when he whips that forehand. He averages 3200. That’s the kind of revolutions per minute that the better Indian street bikes hit in first gear and an easy speed of over 40 kph plus lodges on the odometer. To put that amazing topspin generation in context, Roger Federer notches around 2500 while past greats Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras hovered in the vicinity of 1800.

Nadal plays with an extreme western grip that sees the racquet head almost parallel to the ground when he coils up on his forehand flank. To be able to generate this kind of spin over the span of a five-set match, which can last over four hours, needs tremendous physical strength. This is one of the reasons that Nadal is built like a bull. His bulging back allows him to dig out even the low ball and pulverize it across with tremendous power. It’s a brutal, physical form of tennis which in only possible if a player is as fit as Nadal is – the load also does lead to his injuries largely stemming from Kohler’s feet, a growth defect and a frequent rare bone disorder that leads to a swollen painful foot.

SPIN AND DIP

The extra spin make his strokes dip fiercely allowing him to get deeper penetration with more margin for error. The wind shield wiper follow through accentuates the spin while at the same time forcing tremendous torque on his torso. It’s exhilarating to watch for its sheer brutality. There is no caressing of the ball here, it’s churning. The sheer awesome display of stroke-making aside, there is the seriousness to it all. To think of it, for a nation that has eleven top 100 players (the lowest being 76) it’s kind of queer that the top two singles players have turned up. While Nadal did say that Spain is too good to not be in the world group and wasn’t taking any chances, the real reason for a full-strength team is more to do with the internal politics of the tennis federation. A nation which has won Davis Cup five times since the turn of the century, from seven final appearances, was confronted by a situation just a year ago where top players, including Nadal and David Ferrer, refused to play under the first-ever woman coach of the men’s team Gala Leon.

Instead of sexism, the players were more critical of the conduct of the new captain but the debate devolved into a media circus with Leon being female becoming the centre point. Former world number two and Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez was appointed to massage the ego of the feminists while also giving the players someone they were comfortable with. Of course, Toni Nadal’s comment about just how a female coach would fit in a men’s dressing room still stays relevant and just how long Martinez persists remains to be seen. In the meantime, India is lucky enough to get the best team in the world on display. Practice sessions are more about sweat than intrigue and Nadal at practice is a sight that all aspiring tennis players should be exposed to. There is so much to learn: the stillness of the head at impact, the firmness of his anchoring front foot as he whacks the ball, the sheer diversity of strokes from a semi-open or at times fully open stance.