Five improvements in Rafael Nadal's game post the US Open

There is no doubting that the year 2015 was Rafael Nadal’s most disappointing 12 months with the Spaniard failing to enter even the semifinals in any of the four Grand Slams.Nadal's standards dropped drastically and his game was below par when compared to arch rivals like Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. However, post-US open 2015, the 29-year-old has been making constant improvements in his game. Nadal has been gaining confidence and is moving a lot better on court. He also remained unbeaten at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in the group stages, before succumbing to Djokovic in the semifinals.Clearly, Nadal looked in much better rhythm and shape as compared to any time during the year and here’s a look at 5 alterations that he has made to his game ever since Flusing Meadows:

#5 Net approaches

Nadal's volleys have improved

Nadal now approaches the net a lot more often, thereby finishing the points. Rafa first pushes his players on the defensive and then approaches the net quickly and finishes the point. This strategy has worked well for the world no 5 and he has won 80% of his net approaches in the London week alone. Nadal also chips his volleys closer to the net when the opponent is far off at the baseline, thereby keeping the ball out of the opponents reach

#4 Return of the running forehand

Nadal's forehand is the most coveted shot in tennis.

This is the shot which is present in Nadal's dna. Nadal has hit this kind of running forehand plenty of times in his career. In 2015 however, Nadal did not play too often and only on rare occasions did it reap good results.

But the Spaniard got the forehand return on the button on most times at London and that helped Nadal hit clear winners by leaving his opponents stranded on court. This shot will be important for Nadal in his upcoming matches and in 2016 as well

#3 Faster serve

Rafael Nadal served much quicker in the ATP World Tour Finals as compared to the rest of the season

The King of Clay is known for his heavy topspin kick serve, one which is hard to master. Nadal's serves in 2015 were slower and they lacked the topspin required. This allowed players to hit many service return winners and players could easily break his serve. Nadal has now gained confidence and is serving well, with his accuracy improving with every match. Against Andy Murray at London, Nadal hit his serves at a faster pace and thereby got the upper hand throughout the match.

#2 Stronger groundstrokes

Nadal’s groundstrokes definitely looked better at the ATP World Tour Finals

One major reason why Nadal lost many of his matches this season was his weak groundstrokes. His shots would normally bounce way before the baseline, allowing strong hard hitting groundstroke players like Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych to dominate.

The main reason why Nadal beat Murray so convincingly at London was because he adopted the serve and hit technique whereby he would hit the ball deep after serve thereby going offensive. Nadal's deep groundstrokes have proven to be an important factor in his comeback.

#1 Better movement on court

Nadal has definitely been able to return serves much better than in previous tournaments

Rafa has been known for his on-court movement throughout his career. However, the Spaniard was slower in reaching the ball earlier this year, due to which he would normally slice or chip the ball back which would cause opponents like Fabio Fognini and Dustin Brown to attack and play offensive against him.

He has definitely rectified this problem post US open and is moving as sharp as before. He showed improvements in his movement especially in the match against David Ferrer in London.