Novak Djokovic (1) vs Rafael Nadal (2)
Sunday’s final at Roland Garros is the encounter that fans and pundits alike wanted to see and is a quest for history for both men. Rafael Nadal is looking to win a record seventh French Open title, whereas Novak Djokovic is looking to become the holder of all four Grand Slams at the same time. Clearly something has got to give.
To say that Nadal’s progress through the draw these past two weeks has been untroubled would have to be the biggest understatement of the fortnight so far. He has made some very useful clay court players in Juan Monaco, Nicolas Almagro, and David Ferrer appear very ordinary and to see him as one of the two men left standing is nothing of a surprise. Remarkably, Nadal’s serve has been broken only once during the tournament and that was way back in round one against Italian Simone Bolelli. Since then, his serve has been impregnable and has left his opponents wondering just what it is they need to do in order to bring the Mallorcan to his knees. Sadly, the all too familiar sight of the proverbial white flag being waved by the opposition has seen Nadal breeze through to his seventh Roland Garros final
Novak on the other hand can, to an extent, consider himself lucky to be taking his place in Sunday’s showpiece. Two sets down to Andreas Seppi in round 4 and facing four match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight, Djokovic would have been forgiven for having grass rather than clay on the brain. As it was, his sheer will, determination, and ‘never say die’ attitude he built up in 2011 resurfaced on more than one occasion. In fairness to the Serbian however, he went some way to removing the thoughts of luck from people’s minds when he dismantled Roger Federer on Friday evening in straight sets to book his date with apparent destiny.
It mustn’t be forgotten that Djokovic can boast two wins on clay against Nadal, both in finals and both in straight sets. The fact that Nadal starts a short-priced favourite tomorrow is not only his dominance over the last fourteen days, but the fact he beat Djokovic twice in the last couple of months in Monte Carlo and Rome. Personally speaking, I consider the tournament in the French principality as a bit of a non event. Nadal did indeed defeat Djokovic in straight sets but the event was overshadowed by the death of Djokovic’s grandfather whom he was particularly close to. The Rome final though gives Djokovic more cause for optimism. Admittedly he got beat but he played the big points poorly and actually showed the sort of domination during points that he demonstrated against Federer just two days ago.
To summarise what I expect to occur in the Parisian sunshine come Sunday afternoon, I’ll take Nadal to continue his clay court dominance, leaving Djokovic just falling short of completing the ‘career slam’. One thing worthy of mention is the prices of the two men. The markets would have you believe tomorrow will be a stroll in the park for Nadal. Not in my opinion. Djokovic has enough talent and self-belief to beat Nadal tomorrow, never mind nick a set or two off the Spaniard. Ultimately, I think Nadal will have too much for the Serbian and whilst it may take something in the region of four or five hours, he’ll do what is necessary to win the title.
Selection: Rafael Nadal
Score Prediction: 3-1 @ 3.4
Follow Chris on Twitter @cdquinn86
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