Rome Round Up ...

Well I'm quite sure that you've all watched the match by now, so I'm not going to go into any detail, but I'll just put forward a few comments.

I loved how in his presser, Rafa jumped on the person who asked the first question about staying back and hitting short ... because it was absolute codswallop, wasn't it? Rafa pointed out that from the start, he was aggressive and he was straight at Djokovic - just like he was with Berdych - and it almost paid dividends with having early break points.

One of the most notable things from Rafa's practice in Monte Carlo was that whilst we obviously couldn't understand a word that Rafa and Toni were saying to each other, one word kept being repeated by Toni, and that was "Djokovic", "Djokovic", "Djokovic". Whilst Rafa always gives that respect to his opponents, its obvious that all the while in practice, they are working towards finding new tactics and something different to beat the guy.

Rafa's serving wasn't great yesterday - less than 60% first serves - but his stat on winning the first point was good, as was his stat on winning off his second serve. Now for a player such as Djokovic who's renowned for his great returns (and he had plenty to look at), that stat for him was particularly poor. But as with Monte Carlo, we are seeing Rafa now serve so much more to his forehand, and as was mentioned in the commentary yesterday, whilst Rafa may be missing his first serves, he's obviously decided to put the power on it, and the extra weight added to the tip of his racket aids this as well as giving him a greater weight of shot. Note those two points in the final game where Rafa broke. Both skimmed more heavily off the line, and both times they caught Djokovic unawares.

Rafa is also hitting more down the centre of the court and not giving the PoD any of those angles that he loves to work off. Equally, those deft little exchanges at the net and all the touch shots ... well, it was Rafa's that were all coming off. Probably one of Rafa's greatest plays yesterday was his retrievals. Such an amazing display of gets and this time, it was Rafa who was getting just one more ball back. He also showed great courage as he faced several break points (7 or 8, I think), but he was aggressive on them, and the PoD only broke through the once.

Of course much has been said about the incorrect call that the umpire over-ruled which would have given Djokovic the chance of a set point. Well, had it have gone his way, there is no guarantee whatsoever that he would have made it, as the stat showing his failure to convert so many opportunities in the match shows.

But what pleased me most about Rafa is that he thinking out there on the court and trying. Something we used to see pre-2011, but it certainly wasn't there last year. Rafa was once always able to work things out on the court, but not then. This time though, he seems so much more clear about what he's doing, he's not playing in that fug any more. He doesn't seem bereft of ideas, nervous, lacking confidence. Has Djokovic dropped some of his level from last year? Of course he has. Has Rafa seriously upped is? Well, he's upped it with equipment changes and some different tactics - serving at the forehand and concentrating hard on breaking down that wing for one - so they're now kind of meeting in the middle, I think.

Those two defeats on clay last year aside, Rafa 2012 on clay has proven to be the better player. I also think this will stand him in good stead for the grass as I do believe that he's the better player on that surface too. When we move back to the tedium of the hardcourts, things may change again - although Rafa will still have his chances.

But for now, its a joy to see him winning again, and to see him playing with such greater freedom and confidence. Lets hope that it sees him through to that 7th French Open title *fingers and everything crossed* cos as we've seen when he plays on real clay ... he's The Best.