Isn’t it amazing to be living in an era, where tennis has been dominated by players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have contrasting styles of play as well as personalities? While on one hand you have Roger Federer with his elegance and grace, while on the other you have Rafael Nadal with his brute power and physical strength. Both have devastating forehands but both poles apart.
While Roger Federer has his ‘text book’ forehand, that is so technically correct, that even the harshest critic wouldn’t find anything wrong with it. Rafael Nadal, however, has one of those forehands that is so unorthodox, that no coach in the entire world would recommend it at the first glance.
So how much of a factor does technique play in a player’s game? According to Russian WTA star Svetlana Kuznetsova, technique does not have a big part to play in the sport, if you have the right feel and mental now-how, the technique is all secondary.
“You can have a perfect technique like (Roger)Federer”, said Kuznetsova.
“And you can have Rafael Nadal’s technique”, she continued.
“For me, his(Rafael Nadal’s) forehand is generally wrong”, she said. “
However, if you are able to fight and you have the right mentality, you can hit clearly regardless of technique”, added the Russian.
However, Kuzetsova herself is a die-hard Roger Federer fan, and in her interview with Sports360, she also praised his wife Mirka for her continual support, and help throught his entire career. “Roger is the best”, she said. “It’s unbelievable, I’m so proud to be his fan”, she said with a smile. “I think Roger he learned over the years, and probably for sure with help of Mirka, and having a great team around him, organizing all the travels and somehow he doesn’t get so tight and so many problems like other players do”, added Kuznetsova.
