Novak Djokovic and
Rafael Nadal, the best two players in the world will face off in the finals on
Sunday, the 10th June. History will be chasing them. Djokovic can be
the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all the four Grand Slam
titles. Nadal can be the first player to become a seven times champion at
Roland Garros.
Djokovic had been Nadal’s nemesis for more
than a year until Nadal defeated him at Monte Carlo in April after seven
straight defeats in the finals. Djokovic has again demonstrated exemplary
mental strength in this tournament when he came back from two sets down to win
against Andreas Seppi and when he saved four match points against the local
favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win in five sets. Nadal has had easy path to
the finals where he has not lost a single set. Both have a rest day on Saturday to
get ready for another chapter in their intriguing rivalry on Sunday.
Nadal has a killer forehand with which he
has triumphed over his opponents through baseline rallies. This was so until
Djokovic appeared in a new avatar in 2011after which Nadal was reduced to an
also ran player for most of 2011. He has lost to Djokovic in all the Grand Slam
finals which they have played in 2011 and so far in 2012. Djokovic has had
physical and mental edge over Nadal, the two factors which had catapulted Nadal
into invincible position in 2010. Have the dynamics changed, at least on clay? The
finals on Sunday will decide whether Nadal has got over the Djokovic complex,
notwithstanding his victories in Monte Carlo and Rome.
Djokovic has added extra muscle and accuracy
to his basic shots to become the best player in the world. He is the best in
attack, counter attack and defence. His precision and power on ground strokes
is unmatched. He has superior serve and return of serve than Nadal. His
backhand is the best in the world. His anticipation and court positioning is impeccable.
He does not leave any gap in the court. More than anything, he has peaked at
the right time. The benefit of tough matches against Seppi and Tsonga could be
seen in straight set defeat of Roger Federer in the semi-finals. There were no
symptoms of fatigue in the semi-final match.
Nadal has a superior forehand on clay, but
it has not bothered Djokovic in the past. The extra top spin that Nadal
generates causes extra difficulties on clay. Djokovic will pin him mostly on
the backhand, both to induce short return and to open up the forehand corner. Djokovic
has often exploited gaps in the forehand corner when Nadal tends to convert
backhand into forehand. He is a past master in using the pace and power of
opponent’s shot, just directing the return to the other corner of the court. Nadal
tried to neutralize this in Rome by mixing ground strokes with high balls in
the middle of the court. He is likely to repeat this tactics. Nadal served only
60% of first serves against David Ferrer, which he cannot afford against the
best returner in the world. Djokovic has used return of serve as a weapon to
earn point within three - four shots. Nadal will have to revert to his normal
range of 70% first serves. Djokovic served well against Federer in the semi-finals.
There is a danger that easy victories can
lull a person into belief that he is playing his best. Nadal has got easy
victories, but has not faced quality opposition in his draw. There was nobody
to punish the short balls that he was sometimes feeding to the opponents.
Ferrer does not have shots to kill the short balls. Nicolas Almagro was hampered
by single fisted backhand. Nadal is
likely to repeat the winning game and change it only when it fails. Djokovic is
not losing the longer rallies to those who have weaker backhand which might force Nadal to go for
winner earlier than he does. He might commit a few more errors going for the
lines since Djokovic has great speed and good anticipation.
Djokovic has pushed down Nadal from the top
position not for nothing. He has demonstrated his superiority in many places,
but not at Roland Garros. He has the best combination of defence and attack. This
tournament has however been owned by Nadal from his very first participation in
2005. The only blur came in 2009 when he suffered the biggest upset at the hands
of Robin Soderling. His style of counter punching and solid defence has proved
almost invincible on the clay court of Roland Garros.
Djokovic has stronger basics but Nadal has
better credentials at Roland Garros. It is too precious a title for Nadal to fritter
away.
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