I’m curious if his very conservative grip—the most conservative grip of any top one handed player—contributes to his tendency to retreat and cede ground defensively on that side. The way the grip is structured, he may not feel as comfortable holding ground against heavy balls with that weak grip.
Nadal plays heavy spin to the backhand and Thiem is not able to handle it well. He backs up and plays the next ball that is very attackable by Nadal. Nadal has check mate with this tactic. He used it in 2018 and 2019 Roland Garros.
The only reason Thiem makes that weak grip from the 1980s work is because he is a beast and superhumanly strong. He makes that outdated grip possible—but that doesn’t mean it’s an ideal grip structure.
Follow Chris at these websites and social media links:
Website: www.chrislewit.com
Blog: www.ProdigyMaker.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChrisLewitTennisAcademy
Twitter: www.twitter.com/chrislewit
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/chris-lewit-tennis-academy
Instagram: www.instagram.com/chrislewittennis/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChrisLewit
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prodigy-maker-tennis-show/