Hidden Superpowers

[brokenshoelace]

What do you think are some of the best tennis players in the world's hidden superpowers? I don't really know how to define hidden, they can be underrated shots at their disposal, or perhaps some mental ability, preparation... Basically, things that don't immediately spring to mind when you think of a certain player but are key to their abilities/success.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I'll start with Nadal, obviously.

There's a lot to choose from, but one that stands out to me is despite having one of the absolute best forehands in tennis history, Nadal's superpower is actually rarely having to use it to its full potential.

Nadal's cross court forehand is for me the most important baseline weapon in history in that it made almost every match's base game plan pretty obvious on the most basic level. Rafa hits his cross court forehand to his opponent's backhand and tries to pin them behind that wing. Everything starts there, and every change in the game plan deviates from there. Players had to protect their backhand sides by leaning to their left, hitting it at shoulder height without having necessarily great options, especially since redirecting the ball up the line with the backhand, let alone at that height, is not easy for the vast majority of players. Not to mention, if you do attempt that shot and it's not perfect, you risk so much since Nadal's footwork allowed him to run around his backhand on the next shot where he has even more options now (inside in or inside out).

This strategy allows him one of the most unique luxuries in tennis: hitting winners up the line without risking much. The more opponents protected their backhand, it was only a matter of time before he changed direction of the ball at the last second and sent his forehand up the line, where he could hit it with such high margins that he really wasn't risking much due to his opponent being out of position. Now, the mind game is even more difficult for the opponent as he's conditioning you to start respecting the down the line forehand, which in turn makes the cross court forehand more deadly. On slower surfaces especially, this really was a deadly loop that so many times threw his opponents' gameplans right out the window and really made him damn near impossible to play against for most players.

Of course, this strategy is not entirely ubiquitous, as some players are just too good to completely be nullified by this strategy (although if it's good enough to beat Federer, it's good enough to beat just about anyone), and I think this is where we often saw the full extent of Nadal's forehand. When Nadal plays against opponents who either present certain match up dynamics to where he needs to diversify his hitting patterns, or opponents playing inspired tennis and forcing him to elevate his game beyond his pseudo auto-pilot gameplan, is when we see the full extent of the shot making on his forehand, and this is where it really hits just how good that shot is, and makes you realize that he often uses it in second gear.

 

[britbox]

Staying on Nadal - I think his volleying was extremely underrated. Not so much in the classical style but just the touch and feel (and instinct) he had at the net.

 

[Murat B.]

I don't know if it is hidden or not but because it does not produce winners, it may be overlooked. Talking about Roger's slice backhand. The countless times he lured people forward when they did not want to only to watch a passing shot go by, or the thousands of times where Roger used it to get back into an otherwise hopeless rally...It is a thing of beauty. Technically, it is pretty unique too. It bites. It has power. It doesn't just float. His swing pattern is different and it is not really what you teach players when they want to learn how to slice. But he built it to perfection. Best slice in tennis in my opinion.

 

[Moxie]

Interesting question, Broken. I'll stay on Nadal also, as I know his game best. It may seem obvious, not hidden, to say his mental toughness, but what I think was under appreciated about it, at least for non-fans, was how much it wore down the opponent. The non-fan tended to attribute that to the physicality of Rafa's game, especially in the first 2/3rds of his career. Yes, he could run them around, and the sheer weight of shot broke them down. But in the really long, tough battles, the relentlessness of him wore them out mentally, too. An example I would give is the 2013 SF at RG v. Djokovic. By then, Djokovic was fully fit, and a mighty opponent. Huge battle, but in his last service game, Djokovic seemed spent. IMO, that wasn't physical as much as mental. Similarly. in the 2022 AO final, Medvedev as still fighting in the 5th. He wasn't giving over easily. But eventually, even though Rafa was 35 years old, and 10 years older, he wore Meddie down mentally, I think. He couldn't match the intensity of will in the end.

Maybe a superpower of Alcaraz's is similar, yet different. He plays most often with joy. I've never seen a player who can smile so much during a match, even when he loses a point...if it was fun, it makes him smile. I think players must find this somewhat disconcerting. Certainly, there are many things about his game to disrupt and discourage most players. But to know that you're working your ass off, and to see him to be seeming to enjoy himself so much has to be a bit discouraging. He definitely has his grumpier days, and he tends to rein himself in a bit more when he plays his most lethal opponents, at the business end of the tournament. But I think his lightness during a match is a kind of superpower.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well as a long time Nadal fan, beyond his raw power, he was a "Master Strategist' who could exploit opponent weakness, adjust his game and use angles to control rallies, a great problem solver!

 

[mrzz]

Eveything you guys said above are true and great superpowers, but... I do not think any of those is anywhere near "hidden". Maybe just a tad underrated, but definetly not hidden.

Is it even possible to have a hidden super power? Well, maybe up to a point. Like Nadal's serve in 2013. That was a hidden super power (untill it wasn't). Or Wawrinka's inner beast.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I don't know if it is hidden or not but because it does not produce winners, it may be overlooked. Talking about Roger's slice backhand. The countless times he lured people forward when they did not want to only to watch a passing shot go by, or the thousands of times where Roger used it to get back into an otherwise hopeless rally...It is a thing of beauty. Technically, it is pretty unique too. It bites. It has power. It doesn't just float. His swing pattern is different and it is not really what you teach players when they want to learn how to slice. But he built it to perfection. Best slice in tennis in my opinion.

Roger's slice is the glue to the rest of his game. Obviously, none of these weapons are truly "hidden" but I just used that for a catchy thread title. As you said, Roger's slice is not often discussed compared to the rest of his game, but I don't know that any player in history has used the slice with as much cerebral intelligence as Federer. It may not be the best ever in terms of execution although it's up there, but as his game evolved into a more baseline oriented all around game, the slice grew in importance.

For starters, it is one of the single best return of serve shots in history and made him a nightmare to play for big servers because he was able to absorb all their pace and put the ball back in play while managing to keep it pretty low and thus take away the dreaded big server 1-2 punch. It also made it very hard to serve and volley against because he's not giving you much to work with on the return and again, he kept it pretty low. I reckon if you asked a guy like Roddick which Federer shot he would have liked to do away with the most there's a decent chance he'd say the slice as it completely killed him in that match up. He was also a master at using it to lure guys in and force them into an uncomfortable approach shot. It was equally a killer against big hitters since Roger killed their power with it, neutralized rallies when he needed to and defended exceptionally well with that shot.

In baseline exchanges, it allowed him to protect his backhand side a lot which served him very well against guys who would try and pin him behind that wing even back in his mid 2000's prime. Guys like Davydenko and Nalbandian wanted more stable ground strokes in backhand-to-backhand cross court exchanges but Federer broke their rhythm so well with his slice. Against guys like Murray and especially Novak, Federer also used the slice to try and tone down the unforced error from the backhand wing.

And of course, there's the deadline backhand slice into inside out forehand combo, which for a time, was the most lethal combination in tennis as Roger used the slice to buy himself enough time to run around the subsequent backhand.

Great call.

 

[Kieran]

I think Novak’s slide has helped change the game, and yet it was buried in the mix of his excellent retrieving. Now young players slide as a matter of course, without fear of tangling themselves up in knots.

And this is players sliding everywhere, on all surfaces. And turning defence into attack, when they were out of the point..

 

[brokenshoelace]

I think Novak’s slide has helped change the game, and yet it was buried in the mix of his excellent retrieving. Now young players slide as a matter of course, without fear of tangling themselves up in knots.

And this is players sliding everywhere, on all surfaces. And turning defence into attack, when they were out of the point..

This is a fantastic call.

 

[El Dude]

Novak's special elixir.

jk, Fiero. Chill, bro.