It was inevitable that Nadal and Djokovic were going to collide at Roland Garros again this year, for the seventh time on the red clay of Paris.
Now the showdown of all tennis showdowns is just about a day away.
No two players may know each other as intricately as these two titans. This will be their 44th confrontation. Rafa leads the series 23-20.
The details of this epic battle don’t need to be repeated, we all know what’s at stake.
These are two of the most accomplished and formidable champions in the history of this sport, both seeking this week to add still more history to their already outrageous legacies.
My views on this match…the early stages of the first set will be crucial. If Nadal can jump out of the gates early and establish a lead, which is entirely possible, Djokovic could begin to tighten up and mentally crumble, the pattern which has happened so many times throughout his illustrious rivalry with Nadal, which he has called the biggest rivalry of his career.
Djokovic may hold the mental edge on Rafa, based on his decisive 63 63 defeat of Rafa Monte Carlo earlier this year and his ATP dominance this season – 26 match wins in a row, however Nadal has defeated the Serbian sharpshooter every time they’ve played at Roland Garros, including the four set win in last year’s thrilling final. And of course the epic 97 in the fifth win in the 2013 semifinal.
If Djokovic can achieve the early advantage, it would seem he could ride the wave of momentum and potentially dominate the match, with his machine efficient baseline game and backhand superiority. But Djokovic earned the first set in least year’s match 63, only to lose the following three sets 57 26 46.
And that’s what’s so intriguing about this match, both players have shown incredible superiority but also vulnerability against each other. They are both so formidable and so ruthlessly driven to win this title, for vastly different reasons, it’s almost impossible to calculate what will happen.
Every single time these two clash, the result is always amazing tennis and drama. And surely Wednesday’s battle will be more of the same, or perhaps it will be even above and beyond our gigantic expectations.
My pick is…Djokovic in four.
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13 comments
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Dan Markowitz · June 1, 2015 at 10:22 pm
Good point, Scoop, that part of the big intrigue of this match is that both players have shown both superiority and vulnerability in matches against one another. Even this year, Djoko’s two losses have come against Federer and inexplicably, but it was first tourney of year, Dr. Ivo.
Nadal was smothering against Sock today. I saw some of first two sets and I’m amazed Sock actually won the third set. Sock has the big forehand and better mobility, but his serve doesn’t produce that many aces and his return of serve has such a big backswing that he has to stay well behind the baseline to hit his windmill forehand.
If you look at the final 8 on the men’s side: Djoko, Rafa, Fed, Wawa, Kei, Muzz, Ferrer and Tsonga, there’s no surprises. There’s been some minor upsets: Jo-Willy over Berdman, Sock over Dimitrov and Raonic pulling out, but these 8 guys are clearly the best or close to the best in the world.
I’m picking Rafa, Kei, Muzz and Wawa to come out into the semis with with Wawa beating Nadal in the finals.
On the women’s side, Serena the Drama Queen prevailed again today down a set and a break. In fact, Sloane served for the match at 5-4 in the second set only to be broken. The other 7 players in the quarters are basically either no-names or not the top players: Errani, Safarova, Muguruza, Svitolina, a girl I’ve never heard of, Bacsinczky and Ivanovic. I mean besides Serena, Ivanovic, Errani and Safarova, I wouldn’t be able to pick out these women in a lineup.
Who will win? Of course, Serena. It has all the drama of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. If any of these women beat Serena it would be the biggest upset in the women’s game history.
Gans · June 1, 2015 at 10:47 pm
Scoop, very nicely written. I am expecting, Djokovic to come out of the gates firing! Looks like you have shed your fear for Nadal (:-) and boldly predicted a Djokovic win! It looks like, you have started to listen to what I have to say! 🙂 Dan chickened out! Oh, come on, Dan… 🙂
Cheers!
Gaurang · June 2, 2015 at 3:29 am
Nice article Scoop. I agree — it is much more of a mental game between Djokovic and Nadal. Both have immense capability on the clay court. Who will be able to control his mind and bring out his best on the court on the day will win. The first mover advantage is critical for this match. If Djokovic starts by getting a big lead in the first set, for Rafa his doubts that he is not playing his best will start clouding his brain, and he may not be able to turn the match around (even though he could still play well later, but not enough to turn the match around). If Rafa starts very well, then Novak will start getting his Rafa-on-RG fears again, and he will likely loose. So I agree that the first mover advantage would be critical. OTOH, if the first set is equal and goes to a tiebreak, then nobody knows what will happen.
I think last year was different, since Rafa was playing well, had confidence, and Novak did not — Novak also vomitted etc — he was not well AFAIK.
Will be interesting.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 8:20 am
Well, Sock showed he can slug it out with Rafa on red clay and to take a set has to be a huge confidence builder. Even the mighty Federer, the first time he played Rafa, did not win a set. The same is true for many other great players. This result yesterday bodes well for his bright future.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 8:22 am
Dan, I’m going with Fed vs. Kei and Murray vs. Djok semis. Very hard to go against Serena right now, on paper it looks like she can cruise to the victory. But paper plans do tend to go awry. If it’s not Serena, I will pick … Muguruza.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 8:24 am
Fear of Rafa always exists Gans, always ) He’s going to come out more intense than we’ve ever seen, Djokovic will be ready for that and will match that intensity. I say whoever gets the first break will establish the momentum and win the match.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 8:26 am
Imagine how nerve-wracking that first set tiebreak would be, and how ferociously contested Gaurang. First set will be so so SO VERY important.
Harold · June 2, 2015 at 9:16 am
Hope Nadal finds a way.
Hope the match lives up to the hype. Sometimes they do, sometimes they dont
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 9:36 am
Rafa vs. Djokovic is always a titanic struggle, even if the scorelines don’t always say so. Whoever prevails tomorrow is going to have to play unbelievable astonishing sensational tennis to subdue the other.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Stanimal with a near perfect performance, dominating Fed. All the slights, the FO site article about his marital woes (later pulled), the mockery of his Yonex attire, the characterization of Stan as Fed as practically Fed’s bag carrier, Fed getting all the accolades for the Davis Cup win, tho Fed lost to Monfils and Stan won his singles, Mirka calling Stan a “cry baby” at London WTF, it all built up and Stanimal exploded today like a volcano on Fed. Straight set domination. Bitter disappointment for Fed, now Stan looks like he is in the kind of form to possibly take this title.
Gaurang · June 2, 2015 at 2:49 pm
Yes, when Stan plays at his best, anybody else, whomever it may be, watch out! Stan playing at his best, hitting winners all over the court, can win against anybody — whether the opponents is Fed, Nadal or Djokovic.
Stan has given his warning.
Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2015 at 2:59 pm
Yep, Stan is like Marcelo Rios and to an extent, Mary Pierce, when the sleeping giant is at his/her best fully motivated and inspired and the stars are aligned they can take down ANYONE any time any where. Wowrinka (nickname credit to Gans) showed his all time greatness again today.
gustarhymes · June 7, 2015 at 4:29 pm
The Nadal Djoker match did not live up to their former matches as Nadal was not at his best level. And as Nadal accurately said, it was not a final.
However, I agree with Scoop that the score did not show how tough a match it was for djoker. I think the Nadal Murray back to back was tough on Djoker; I will concede that. The French scheduled it unfairly too. They were hoping for Tsonga to win against Stan and have a more tired Djoker after a 2 day match with Murray. They shoudl have played one of the semis on Suzanne Lenglen. We know tournaments have there favorites. Stan should be thankful to Murray for taking some wind out of Djoker’s sails.
Congrats to the Stanimal though.
Gusta