In a sport where the forehand is king, Rafael Nadal does it best

The tennis shot so well disguised that it befuddles opponents like a Shane Warne flipper.

Is the forehand of Rafael Nadal, who is seeking a 14th Roland Garros title, the greatest shot tennis has seen? Picture: AFP

Rafael Nadal’s forehand is the greatest shot in history and by the end of the next fortnight in Paris it may well have helped him deliver the decisive blow in one of the great rivalries in tennis.

That is the view of Paul McNamee, an Australian Open semi-finalist and champion doubles player who remains active globally in tennis administration and also coaching.

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Should Nadal claim a 14th Roland Garros title, he will move ahead of Roger Federer on the all-time list of major winners for the first time and lead Novak Djokovic by three titles.

It shapes as a historically significant grand slam, with the 34-year-old Spaniard an odds-on chance to claim a 21st major title.

This is despite featuring in a loaded half of the draw featuring the big three in men’s tennis, with Nadal having recently dropped to a ranking of three despite winning two recent clay court titles including the Italian Open.

En l'honneur du plus grand champion de Roland-Garros 1⃣3⃣🏆@RafaelNadal a inauguré ce jeudi sa statue dans le stade Roland-Garros 🏟️#RolandGarros

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2021

Australia’s great hope Ash Barty is second favourite for Roland Garros behind reigning champion Iga Swiatek but has the Pole and another former champion Garbine Muguruza in her half of the draw.

A group of professionals, coaches and other tour-affiliated personnel were surveyed a couple of years ago on what they believed were the standout shots on tour.

The finesse of Federer featured. Djokovic’s backhand was deemed brilliant. Serena Williams serve might just be the best the women’s game has seen.

Are they better than the serve of Martina Navratilova? The backhand of Rod Laver? Or Bjorn Borg’s forehand? Viewpoints vary depending on the era.

To the present, both Nadal and Barty are blessed with world-beating weapons that elevate them above most of their rivals, McNamee said.

The Spaniard’s ferociously top-spinning forehand dips sharply into the court, grips the clay and then spits up with venom into awkward positions.

McNamee, 66, details its effectiveness in a new book devoted to clay court tennis called Welcome To The Dance and said he was blown away when first seeing Nadal as a teen in Monte Carlo for the first time.

“It saw the forehand and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness’,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“In the centenary Australian Open, he played Lleyton Hewitt, and we put that one on Australia Day and it was an incredible match.

“Lleyton was number one in the world but with Rafa, you just knew what was coming. When you talk to Lleyton about that match, he realised how incredible he was going to be.

“The thing about clay is having a weapon and he has the ultimate weapon. The forehand is king. A great forehand is always better than a great backhand. That is just the way it is.

“It is like having a driver compared to a 3-wood, basically.”

Barty possesses an outstanding forehand, which featured in the survey of her peers in 2018, but so do many of her rivals.

McNamee makes an exception to his “forehand is king” rule when it comes to the backhand of the Queenslander, who plays Bernarda Pera in the opening round on Sunday.

No two of Barty’s sliced backhands are the same. Some skid though barely above the court while others stop on the spot.

The world No 1 disguises it in a manner similar to the way Shane Warne befuddled batsmen with his flipper.

“I would say the most effective shot in the women’s game at the moment is the Barty slice backhand. It is like Roger’s slice backhand, which is the most effective,” McNamee said.

“I mean, she dismantles players with it. It is so uncomfortable playing against her, because they don’t get that look from anybody else.”

In the New York Times survey of tour players back in 2018, rivals actually rated Federer’s forehand ahead of Nadal, though the Spaniard had the support of former professionals.

Djokovic has the best double-handed backhand, while fellow French Open champion Stan Wawrinka received the nod for his one-hander.

Dominic Thiem, who is twice a finalist at Roland Garros, recently said that he had modelled his own tremendous backhand on the Wawrinka weapon.

“I like Stan’s the most. I think it looks the best and it is so, so stable. It is maybe even the best ever, I would say. It is such a beauty of a shot,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“When I saw him, I straight away loved his one-handed backhand and tried to copy some things from it.”

American John Isner was rated the best serve for both deliveries. Nick Kyrgios, who will resume in the grass court season, earned an honourable mention.

As a side note, in a recent social media exchange between master coach Brad Gilbert and former Australian Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the Russian said the vicious serve of left-handed Aussie Wayne Arthurs was the best he had ever seen.

Among the other categories considered was a question as to which player those surveyed would want to play a match for their life.

The answer, not surprisingly given the intensity with which he approaches every point, even in practice, was Nadal. Williams, who is an outsider in Paris as she seeks a 24th major title, earned the nod in women’s ranks.

As to the championship hopes in Paris of Barty and Nadal over the next fortnight, McNamee said the warmer the weather, the better it will be for the pair.

He rates Swiatek the main danger to the Australian, saying she deserved favouritism for her recent romp in the Italian Open, though said Barty did score a good victory over the Pole in Madrid.

“Barty has the Federer serve of women’s tennis. It is the most accurate first serve,” he said.

“She exploited that to her advantage in Madrid. It will be a little more difficult in Paris but I would say it is a 50-50 match if they meet. I think Ash can unsettle her.

“If it is fast in Paris, I will go with Ash. If it is heavy and wet, I would go with Swiatek. She could hit her off the court. It depends on the weather.

“If it is too heavy, you can’t work the angles. You can’t work the spin. Ash needs the faster conditions for her slice backhand.”

Checkout who all the Aussies will face in both the men’s & women’s #RolandGarros main draws ⤵️#TheFirstServepic.twitter.com/7QWdXzQbCf

— The First Serve (@TheFirstServeAU) May 27, 2021