2009 AO comes close, but yeah this is probably the best Nadal ever played on hard courts. This was the peak of his fitness and more importantly, his serve.
Nadal's best year on hard was 2013. It was pretty impossible for his opponents to get a chance. He could've keep the level in 2014 if it wasn't for the injuries once again..
Yeah, Nadal was awesome on hard in AO 2009, US Open 2010 and throughout 2013, but I think he peaked in this tournament. I don't think we've ever seen at least his hard-court game firing so tremendously on all cylinders as we saw in the US Open 2010, although his game throughout the summer hard-court swing in 2013 comes very close. At the 2010 US Open, he was lightning fast, his serve was unusually potent and pinpoint, giving him a rare number of cheap/free points even against the world's best returners such as Djokovic, his body and mind were almost robotic in their impregnable strength, and his baseline rallying was suffocatingly deep and strong, underpinned by a ferocious mix of booming, slinging topspin and searing flat shots off both wings, with creative use of low, sliding sliced backhands for variety ... It's one of tennis' tragedies that injuries so often cut short the golden periods of Rafa's play (as in 2009 after his amazing 2008 season, as after the 2010 US Open when he softened his serve to mitigate a shoulder injury, as in 2012 after dominating the clay spring, 2014 after his incredible 2013 ...), so that he never remained for very long at the height of his powers (as Fed was able to do from 2004-2009 and Nole was from 2011 to, well, the present).
i don't know if it's the camera quality but i feel like this match is not on the same level of what we see today. Djokovic and Nadal were hitting so hard in this final it's crazy.
@@lammie001 Nadal technique in later years is more compact and look more aesthetic but less powerful. In their older years less energy to spend they have to do counterpunching but that's enough to win against next-genners. 2010 Nadal and 2011 Djokovic hit so hard it's like different species from their 2022 and 2023 version. I have preference for 2010 Nadal technique because it looks great and so powerful and dominant, sure it may not be pretty like 2022 Nadal technique but it still looks good in its own way.
US Open 2010 Nadal was at his physical zenith... awesome footspeed, incredible serve and devastating groundstrokes were in display... he could've been the greatest ever without a question if injuries didn't blocked his way... but he'll always be in the contest of being GOAT achieving so much greatness inspite of being injured.. 👑
Well the kind of style Nadal played with he was always bound to have injuries. If he wouldn't have adopted that style then he wouldn't have been that legend so injuries isn't an excuse.
it's not an excuse it's a fact.. I agree that his style of play is the main reason of his injuries but you gotta consider his career threatening ankle disorder is not his doing which he had back in 2005.. he had to use different type of shoes to compensate that problem.. also that makes his knees more injury prone.. hard to believe? read his book.
Ruchir Mundhra What nonsense are you saying? An individual's "style of play" is just his/her game. There are player whose game is as physical as that of Nadal's, but didn't come close to the level of sucess Nadal have achieved. And, even to this day, Nadal is still playing pretty solid tennis at age 31.
LEdger Poppunk Some of the greatest tennis matches ever for sure! Two of history’s best, both at their peak, battling again and again with an undulating flow of supremacy that first favoured one, then the other, as their energies and fortunes waxed and waned, and they continually evolved each other, with almost all matches being close and epic.
@@aranyaism but Nadal still beat prime Djokovic in 2013 US Open. And Nadal serve better in 2010 US open. Highly doubt that this Nadal would lose to anyone with that serve and backed up with the best forehand backhand baseline combo.
@@sumnahlennon4516 yes but Nadal was able to do it against Djokovic at US Open 2013. Novak never beat peak Nadal at RG semifinal or final. Nadal beating 2010 Djokovic at US open was impressive because he beat Federer and was having an excellent North America swing (like Medvedev was in 2019 US Open).
Regarding Nadal's game, very little has changed over the course of his career. And as amazing as Nadal has been for the past two seasons (2017-2019), he was even better during the earlier years of his career (especially 2008-2013). The doubters and naysayers were just wrong, by claiming Nadal will not have a longevous and prosperous career, namely because of his style of play (which often gets him injured).
Best version of Nadal. His serve and his backhand has never been better. Such a shame he got injured or he would've won more Wimbledon and Hard court Slams.
He won 4 US Open titles. He won 2 Australian open titles He won 2 won Wimbledon titles He won 14 French open titles. He was world ranking no 2 for 370 weeks. He was world ranking no 1 for 209 weeks. He won 92 ATP titles in total. 63 titles on clay 25 titles on hard 4 Titles on grass.
This is unreal and pure tennis with hitting skills at its best from both. I miss thiz nadal so much with phenomenal hitting power and remarkable court coverage
Personally, I have never seen Rafael Nadal play a better hard-court tournament than the US Open 2010, and I'm considering his AO 2009 victory, which many believe was his best performance on hardcourts. No, it's THIS one right here. In the entire tournament, Nadal never looked vulnerable. Excellent serve, devastating backhand, and a powerful forehand that just didn't know how to make mistakes. I remember watching the entire 5-hour match of Nadal vs Verdasco of AO 2009, and frankly, Nadal could have lost that match. I was literally telling myself, here we go again. Rafa going out in yet another semis of a hard-court Grandslam.
Agree entirely. Not to take any thing from Nadal, but watching ao09 final it felt like federer played better tennis yet somehow Nadal came on top. It’s just strange, nadal 2ao and 3-1 vs fed in ao, but has 3 less titles
Nadal is a monster on hard court despite what ppl make it seem. He won 4 USO and 2 AO and made many other finals on top of that. It's a pity he had to face Novak who is the best hard court player in history + Fed and Murray who are hard court specialists. The most magical run def was 2022 AO, he looked like he could lose any match yet somehow won all 7 of them. And the most solid were here 2010 USO and 2017 USO, he was a beast in these and no one could have stopped him.
@@aleksamilosevic8792 Maybe but 2010 was Nadal's peak level all around off clay..Federer had more success vs Nadal off clay later on because Nadal was a shell of himself ie speed + quickness..
he murdered nadal in 2011. nadal gave it everything. novaks defense was just better. 2010 novak hasnt figured nadal out, defense isnt the same. just watch both highlights. the quality of shots from both nadal and novak was superior in 2011. yet novak was still better. "novak was my problem in 2011" nadal.
even at minimum mentally Nadal was definitely stronger in 2010 than 2011, I think he served better too. Wouldn't pick 2010 as Nadal's peak though, probably 2009 AO
Derek Woods Other than 2008/2012/2017 French Open Nadal's Us Open 2010 was the best grand slam in his career in terms form, he was basically the best version of himself, he regularly hit above 130 mph serves which never happened before in his career and was hitting the forehand the same as you see him on clay. Djokovic was obviously better in 2011 than this match but I would still pick Nadal to win in this form, Nadal basically figured out Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open, Djokovic only won one grand slam match since then (Nadal won four), and it was in 2015; aka the worst year in Nadal's career, when Nadal basically lost to everybody.
The level of power in Nadal groundstrokes here was frightening. Especially on that wicked forehand, so much venom and pace Djokovic was clutching at thin air so many times.
This is Nadal before the injury. At the time, he and Federer presented the best tennis in the history, and the rest, with my respect, are just a supplement of number.
He was not injured in 2011 also He was injured in 2012 which forced him to skip half of the season after Wimbledon. He cameback in 2013 made it his one of the best season for him actually
Rafa was a beast in these two weeks. His backhand and serve during this tournament were the best they ever were imo. He was bludgeoning his backhand and serve. If he'd play like that all the time, he'd win a lot more.
Gherbi Hicham Agreed. 2017 clay season Rafa beats this one and 2012 RG Rafa for best I’ve ever seen him play. You could play to that backhand a thousand times and he’d hit all of them back, and he’d probably put the ball away for a winner too.
This match was one of Nadal's best performance on court, wow! See how young feet, young hands n young spirit could flew higher n highest? Amazing! Win more n more! Love it! 💝
Do u even know what defensive game is? Both these guys are playing from the baseline and not coming to the net. Not trying to finish the point in less than 5 shots. That's what defensive game is.
nirupam89 hahahahah you really need a brain transplant if you actually believe that, Nadal and Djokovic are both agressive baseliners dummy, how long have you been watching tennis anyway? Yesterday maybe?
No dumbasses defensive style is running around keeping the ball in play to allow opponents to make mistakes, offensive is hitting with power and finishes the points off faster, volley is going to the net, which has certainly died off
@@russelstephan6342 who was better? Name me one player that had his speed, his ground strokes, a 140 mph serve, and won 3 slams on 3 different surfaces in the same year.
@@taylorpack7705 nadal Maybe but you will probably say that is baby nadal when he is not he started wining slams at 2005 and he was main rival of roger from 2005 to 2010.
Probably the best match between these two, together with their 2013 US open. And probably the best player ever, Nadal in his prime. Quality tennis, speed and physical and mental power, unstopable.
Lol good one. It would've taken more than that flat forehand to best Nadal. In case you haven't realized but Federer tends to leave with his asshole torn apart after facing Nadal.
2013 US open finalist Nadal willl give this 2010 Nadal a good game, he was using a heavier racquet producing more top spins on his forehand and landing them closer to the baseline making it difficult for his opponents.
People wonder why Nadal changed his serve after showing that he could serve up to 135 mph. There are 2 reasons. The first was that he ended up getting tendinitis in his shoulder from the service motion change towards the end of the year in 2010. The second was that he ended up missing a lot of first serves. The last tournament where he tried to serve hard was Indian Wells 2011. In that final against Djokovic, he won the first set. After that, Djokovic had no problem breaking Nadal because he missed to many first serves which is playing with fire against a good returner like Djokovic. I wished he had not changed though because Djokovic and Federer probably read his serve better than anyone so they have good success on hard and on grass courts. Ultimately I believe Nadal pulled the plug too quickly
@@DevenderKumar-mh6fl well he defeated federer in 2008.in wimbledon final, and that was a peak federer in good form on his best surface, and federer was unable to beat nadal at the french open despite so many attempts nadal kept destroying his there, often in straight sets. and that year plus 2009 and 2010 were peak nadal years.where he was world no 1 and also won olympic gold Nadal won four singles titles on clay, and defeated Roger Federer in three clay finals.in 2008, which added to beating federer in wimbledon final means nadal beat federer at least four times in 2008, on grass and clay. nadal won three grand slams in 2010 including beating djokovic in the US open final, despite hard court being his weakest surface and hard for him given his knee problems. So federer and djokovic were no problem for nadal.Nadal was beating djokovic and federer during those three years on a regular basis. he was like the nadal now, but much more energetic and faster around the court, being younger. if another player beat federer and djokovic, nadal had to defeat the player who defeated federer and djokovic', and if nadal beat that player -which he did-then that means nadal is playing better than djokovic and federer, and fact is in those three years, nadal was playing better than federer and djokovic which is why he was world no 1. and unlike djokovic and federer, nadal won slams on all three surfaces-he won two wimbledon titles, one us open title ,one australian open title, and five french opens by end of 2010. that is a complete player. you could argue that federer only won his single french open because nadal got knocked out in a big upset. for sure if federer had to face nadal at french open he would have lost.. but i credit federer because he had to beat soderling nadal's overcomer, and federers form on clay, only losing to the brilliance of nadal on the surface meant federer deserved one french open title.to reward his consistency at the french open. . he beat federer in both the wimbledon final and the australian open final, so nadal beat federer on grass, on hard court and on clay, and took over the world no 1 position which he held until djokovic's incredible 2011 season, where nobody could beat him. so theres no way you can devalue nadal's achievements, when he beat federer and djokovic at wimbledon,at the french, and at the US open. and in the french he was beating federer and djokovic in the same tournament. clay is the most difficult surface to dominate on, which is why the second most successful player on clay only has six french opens-borg. clay requires the most physicality, most fitness, strength, mental endurance. which is why nadals domination of the hardest surface both in the masters clay tournaments and at the french single him out as the greatest player. and now having won his twelve french open and fourth US open this year, nadal is only won grand slam behind federer's record, and nadal holds the record for the most ATP masters 1000 titles. in 2013 nadal dominated the hard court swing, he was unbeaten on the hard courts that season , climaxing in again beating djokovic in the US open final.so two of nadal's US opens involved beating djokovic in the final. nadal beat medvedev in this US open final just gone, and medvedev is almost an exact copy of djokovic. djokovic keeps losing to medvedev, and medvedev has been beating every top player on the tour. except nadal. nadal beat him in the rogers cup final, and at the US open final just gone. basically nadal beat a younger version of djokovic. beating medvedev when medvedev beat djokovic, means in effect that in beating medvedev nadal proved himself better than djokovic. that is how grand slams work. you may not face djokovic and federer because other players may knock them out, but then you have to face the player who knocked them out. and if you beat that player, then that shows you are superior in form compared to djokovic and federer. so that argument is not valid. I always acknowledge the achievements of nadal , federer and djokovic who each have their own unique achievements, their own unique records and dominations.
Devender Kumar I must correct you, thoroughly by going through the complete history of these three greats. well, nadal defeated federer in 2008.in wimbledon final, and that was a peak federer in good form on his best surface, and federer was unable to beat nadal at the french open despite so many attempts nadal kept destroying his there, often in straight sets. and that year plus 2009 and 2010 were peak nadal years.where he was world no 1 and also won olympic gold Nadal won four singles titles on clay, and defeated Roger Federer in three clay finals.in 2008, which added to beating federer in wimbledon final means nadal beat federer at least four times in 2008, on grass and clay. nadal won three grand slams in 2010 includihg beating djokovic in the US open final, despite hard court being his weakest surface and hard for him given his knee problems. So federer and djokovic were no problem for nadal. Nadal was beating djokovic and federer during those three years on a regular basis. he was like the nadal now, but much more energetic and faster around the court, being younger. if another player beat federer and djokovic, nadal had to defeat the player who defeated federer and djokovic', and if nadal beat that player -which he did-then that means nadal is playing better than djokovic and federer, and fact is in those three years, nadal was playing better than federer and djokovic which is why he was world no 1. and unlike djokovic and federer, nadal won slams on all three surfaces-he won two wimbledon titles, one us open title ,one australian open title, and five french opens by end of 2010. that is a complete player.. he beat federer in both the wimbledon final and the australian open final, so nadal beat federer on grass, on hard court and on clay, and took over the world no 1 position which he held until djokovic's incredible 2011 season, where nobody could beat him. so theres no way you can devalue nadal's achievements, when he beat federer and djokovic at wimbledon,at the french, and at the US open. and in the french he was beating federer and djokovic in the same tournament. clay is the most difficult surface to dominate on, which is why the second most successful player on clay only has six french opens-borg. and why djokovic and federer only have one french open each. clay requires the most physicality, most fitness, strength, mental endurance, most concentration, you have to generate all the power on the shots so more strength required, groundstrokes have to be more solid than on any other surface as you have to construct points like a chess match as rallies are often long, and the player with the most top spin has the advantage which is why nadals domination of the hardest surface both in the masters clay tournaments and at the french single him out as the greatest player. and now having won his twelve french open and fourth US open this year, nadal is only won grand slam behind federer's record, and nadal holds the record for the most ATP masters 1000 titles. in 2013 nadal dominated the hard court swing, he was unbeaten on the hard courts that season , climaxing in again beating djokovic in the US open final.nadal is one of only two players to have ever gone unbeaten in the hard court season-the other one being andy roddick. so two of nadal's US opens involved beating djokovic in the final. nadal beat medvedev in this US open final just gone, and medvedev is almost an exact copy of djokovic. djokovic keeps losing to medvedev, and medvedev has been beating every top player on the tour this year, except nadal. nadal beat medvedev in the rogers cup final, and at the US open final just gone. Basically nadal beat a younger version of djokovic. beating medvedev when medvedev beat djokovic, means in effect that in beating medvedev nadal proved himself better than djokovic. that is how grand slams work. you may not face djokovic and federer because other players may knock them out, but then you have to face the player who knocked them out. and if you beat that player, then that shows you are superior in form compared to djokovic and federer. so that argument is not valid. I always acknowledge the achievements of nadal , federer and djokovic who each have their own unique achievements, their own unique records and dominations. it is ungenerous in spirit to try to undermine their legacy, their achievements by making excuses for their victories. the best fans of these three great players will generously and honourably pay tribute to each of the three players unique records and achievements. there is always the GOAT debate, which involves these three players plus i would put Borg in there too, and the now underrated sampras too, borg having won both french open and wimbledon five times in a row, but retired very early at twenty six years old. that shows just how gruelling the clay season is, as borg was mentally worn out with tennis and didnt want to play anymore. sampras who was the best serve and volleyer during the netrush fast court era. but the neutral way to settle the GOAT debate is grand slams and masters 1000 titles, as the purpose of those tournaments is to find who is the best, and this stops our bias toward our favourite player clouding our judgement. so it is between federer and nadal right now, but nadal has superior head to head vs federer. nadal is only one behind federer in grand slams, but nadal holds the record for most masters 1000 titles ever-two more than djokovic in second place. djokovic is three grand slams behind nadal and four behind federer, but he has a good head to head record against nadal. and is currently two wins ahead of nadal in head to head. so djokovic has fallen behind in the GOAT race, but he can still get back in there, as before nadal won US open, djokovic had won three of the last four grand slams. djokovic has hinted though that he is nearing the end of his career, so its unlikely that he will be still playing in three-four years as injuries are now catching up with him.
Great video! I thought I was watching a live broadcast :-) Thar was an unbelieveable performance by Rafa! I think one of his best ever - on all surfaces! I saw the live broadcast. I knew Rafa was going to win his first U.S. Open that year. He and Novak are always a great matchup.
Bring old nadal, i want him to perform well and win grand slams on hardcourt and grass. Best wishes from India, hope we see best nadal in upcoming year.
Are you suggesting he hasn't won grand slams on grass and hard courts? But the end of the 2010 season (same year this US Open final match featured in the video took place) Nadal had even won more GS titles than Djokovic on all surfaces. In fact, he had already recorded his 2 wimbledon titles by then. Djokovic had none.
@@TheTmat007 yeah but now he has 5 Wimbkedon titles,3 of them beating Federer in final and the other too beating Nadal in semi final and final,so doesn't matter,facts
@@cosminapisoi Nadal, today, is still performing very good. The same is also true in regards to Federer and Djokovic. But this isn't the Nadal of 2008-2013. In fact, even Federer stated that part of the reason for his better success against Nadal (during the more recent years of the rivalry) is because Nadal isn't performing quite like he did back then. Also, Djokovic never faced a young Federer on grass. To me, those facts matter. It reveals Djokovic has had an easier path towards his bigger or greater achievements than did Nadal. A young Nadal has had to battle his rivals across all 3 surfaces, while they were young.
I watched this yesterday and have been thinking about it. I think Federer is unquestionably the GOAT but, seeing this match, I simply don't think he could have kept with this pace like these two. Very, very physical. I could be wrong but I don't think I've ever seen Roger play a match with this kind of sustained, elevated speed, strength, and shot-making. Amazing to watch.
Fed wAs unquestionably the GOAT. Now he’s out of the race and it’s between djodal. Nadal has more slams, Olympic gold, most titles in a single gs. But in every other aspects djokovic is ahead.
titanic battles--Both were great at that time. Rafa just amazing with deep, hard shots, moving from defense to offense on a dime. Djokovic was not a slouch. He was playing damned well and would have beaten almost anyone else.
if nadal had not been injured in 2011 AO , he would have had best 2011 as well and djlokovic would be have come into the scene nadal here was strong and very sure
Nadal-Djokovic rivalry is intense and thrilling to watch while Nadal-Fed rivalry is more of it and Djoko-Fed is either of it. But we're witnessing the best 3 tennis player of all time and can't help but to appreciate these guys. Been a Sampras fan, now these 3 are just way better.
Rafa was definitely undefeatable on this day. Much better serve and play than any other match from Rafa.. I want this diehard fighter Rafael Nadal back, to win more grandslam titles..King of clay forever..
My gosh!!!! Their hitting prowess and athleticism are unbelievable. And every time Nadal hits the ball, it makes a huge sound. My God, he hits hard. It would be brutal to play against these two but especially Nadal's coz his ground strokes are punishing....!!!
Nadal actually hit really hard in this match which gave him the W. Even in the 2013 final where Nadal won, he hit way slower compared to Novak and he was constantly put under pressure. Post-2011 it always felt like Nadal was the underdog against Nole, constantly chasing after balls, always on the losing end of epic rallies. The fact he somehow still collected a few Ws against Novak shows how mentally tough he is with a never give up fighting spirit. His game tho was always slightly below Novak's level from 2011 onwards. This final was the last match Rafa actually dominated Novak (besides 2020 RG final, but that was on clay)
Thanx to injuries and rafa getting slower! Rafa is a clay court specialist it's a big shame for djokobitch that Nadal was able to whoop his ass on hard courts as well. Djoko couldn't ever beat Nadal on clay in his prime..from 2005 to 2009 i.e..even in 2010 i think. His victories over nadal on clay after that are meaningless.
@GTS No drug can explain how Djokovic can elevate his game seemingly on demand, based on the situation. Looks ordinary in the early rounds and becomes God-like in semis and finals.
ashwini kumar there’s a difference between being the most successful of all time (federer) and being the goat (Nadal). Nadal has la decima, at least 2 slams on each surface, gold medal, 9-3 & 9-4 in slams vs Federer & Djokovic, etc. He’s the goat. Federer won half of his slams against Roddick, Hewitt, Gonzales, Baghdatis, etc. Most successful (quantity) yes, goat (success/quality) no.
If we’re talking about most successful I’d said both federer and nadal because they’re two totally different players, but if we’re talking about the complete player, best ever in their primes, you’re looking at him on this video, 2010 Nadal
Probably best version of Nadal on hardcourts with AO 2009 However this wasn't Djokovic's peak yet (He needed 5 sets to beat Troicki earlier in the tournament and lost to Federer and Nadal a couple of times after this USO final) Nadal 2010 vs Djokovic 2011 would be awesome tho
Djokovic would slaughter him. As soon as Djokovic found the strategy to beat Nadal then he just went into overdrive in this H2H off clay. On clay it's still advantage to Nadal because of the topspin FH.
@@GameOvais Rafa would have dismantled and crushed and eaten 2011 Novak for breakfast,you Senseless piece of trash,look at those missiles he was hitting off both wings,hear the thunderous pump on the court, douche
Q dos jabatos del tenis, pró q gran espectaculo d'golpes d'Nadal, és una gozada verlo jugar, hace q todos los partidos sea una emocion verlos, antes i ahora, m encanta, s un campeón espectacular, para mi the best, el mejor, CAMPEÓN!! 😘😘😘😘👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💪
Rafa Nadal is GOAT.From 2007 to 2013 he fought greatest tennis battles with both Federer and Djokovic.2007 Wimbledon final 2008 Wimbledon final 2009 aus open final,2010 us open final,2012 aus open final,2013 french open semifinal,2013 us open final are some greatest battles ever fought in history of tennis.
