Carlos Moya, coach of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, is breaking down the Spaniard's performances at Roland Garros for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal is pursuing his 11th trophy on the Parisian terre battue.
On Thursday, the defending champion defeated Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals, where he'll face fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro for a place in the final. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s win over Schwartzman.
Making The Most Of The First Rain Delay
Going into the match against Diego, Rafa had some doubts because Diego has no obvious gaps in his game and he was playing to his full potential. Rafa had a hard time figuring Diego out during the match. After the first rain delay, we reevaluated the situation and our assessment proved positive. But the truth is, Rafa has been in difficult situations before and has had to work his way out of them on his own. I want him to have that mind frame going forward.
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Two Very Different Matches
Forget for a moment what a great player Rafa is. If he's not at his best, it's not enough to defeat the likes of Diego. In the first set, Rafa wasn't commanding play; his shots lacked velocity and he wasn't playing aggressively. He should have been on the attack from the start. Today was different after the match resumed. This is something else I'm trying to instill in him; he needs to be on the offense at all times.
Bailed Out By The Rain
There's no question that the rain impacted the outcome. Rafa started out with low intensity yesterday; he was very passive and not quite himself. Rafa can't rely on the weather to come to his rescue, though. That's not how it works.
A Team Effort
Sometimes Rafa needs a little coaxing. Today, we tried to encourage him and convince him that he has what it takes to win in these types of situations. He's shown in the past the ability to overcome adversity. He has the skills, no question, and the confidence as well. He just needs to focus on imposing his will on opponents. We came together as a group to rally him.
A Win Is A Win At A Major
This is a point I've stressed -- to win a Grand Slam, you need to push through, even when you aren't playing at your best. There are going to difficult situations and tricky opponents along the way ... those are the hurdles you have to expect when playing at a Grand Slam. Rafa is demonstrating again that he has what it takes to barrel through all obstacles in front of him.