What does thinking about Spain conjure up for you? Delicious food, the Sagrada Familia and the fantastic weather? All of this and more most likely, particularly for tennis fans.
Spain rules men’s tennis at the moment, having won five Davis Cup titles in the last 13 years. The next nation is Russia, with two, showing just how far ahead Spanish tennis players are.
Nadal leads the way … end Ferrer is just there
The eight times winner of the French Open, Rafael Nadal is the undisputed leader of the Spanish contingent in men’s international tennis. Spain has a staggering 14 top 100 players, who all come within the top 76 places – an amazing achievement. Five Spanish players come into the top 26.
At the US Open in August, No 2 seeded Nadal played against unlucky Ivan Dodig who was played into the ground by the Spanish champion as Nadal won in predictably harsh fashion (his scores were 6-4, 6-4, 6-3) in a match that barely took two hours.
Known for his traditional approach to play, Nadal was particularly pleased with the way this match went. He was quoted as saying: “To be able to win against him in straight sets is great news.”
That was just the 3rd round as later the King of Clay won the US Open dropping only 2 sets in the entire tournament.
Rafa ended the 2013 as world no.1 with a remarkable 72-6 record and he is not the only Spaniard to shine as world no.3 is the evergreen David Ferrer.
Changing styles of play
Nadal is a good example of one of the reasons Spanish players consistently come high in the rankings. They are willing to adapt their style of play, meaning that they are flexible in the way they play, which leads to higher chances of winning.
His style of play changed in 2010 when he began moving closer to the baseline and serving harder and faster, leading him to beat Novak Djokovic in the final at the US Open that year. This aggression of play seems to have moved him up a notch, notwithstanding his early exit from Wimbledon, due to knee problems. He’s certainly still up there for anyone following tennis betting , and made it clear this year why he shouldn’t be ruled out.
What makes Spain so successful in tennis?
There are various hypotheses surrounding exactly why Spain produces such successful tennis players, and so many of them. It seems that a key factor is that the system for juniors in Spain is so strong.
The fact that they routinely play on clay surfaces, allows them to develop the power and dexterity needed. Junior players learn their skills on clay courts but are given the chance to compete on different surfaces as much as possible.
So … how many Rafas we can expect in the near future?