Rafael Nadal Will Easily Dispatch Martin Klizan After 1st-Round Struggles

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 28, 2013

commentComment        

Rafael Nadal didn't look sharp in Round 1 of the 2013 French Open and struggled his way through a four-set win over Germany's Daniel Brands. 

He was sluggish in the return game and played a sloppy game for the first half of the match, but you shouldn't expect a repeat performance in his second-round matchup against Martin Klizan.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, his 19 lost games in the match equaled his total losses through four rounds last year:



It's worth pointing out, however, that once Nadal got past the second set he kicked his game into "plaid" speed and dominated the action in the final two sets.

Brands clearly played a top-notch game, and Nadal's struggles can be easily attributed to first-round rust.

That said, there is one huge difference between Brands and Klizan that will help Nadal sail easily through this next match: Brands is a tall, right-handed player with a big serve, while Klizan is a lanky lefty who is more of a finesse player.



Brands kept Nadal off balance early on with his serve and finished the match with 10 aces and 51 winners, but in the end he fell victim to the best clay-court player in the world. 

Klizan's lack of velocity on his serves will allow Nadal to return with more authority, setting himself up for break opportunities early and often. Furthermore, in his contest against Brands Nadal dialed in his own serve in the latter half, connecting on 94 percent of his first serves in the final two sets.



These two aspects of his game will inevitably give Nadal a huge advantage over Klizan in Round 2, and a straight-sets victory will almost assuredly be the outcome. 

Klizan made his way to the second round by way of Michael Russell's early retirement. He has won just six matches this season while losing 13, and he has a career winning percentage of 40.7 on clay. 

This is going...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!