2011 Rome Final - Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

[nadalbestclass]

Who wins?

1) First time in ATP Masters 1000 history (since '90), same duo will play in 4 finals during year.
2) No player has d. Nadal in 4 finals in row.

 

[JeMar]

I dunno. I would've given the edge to Djokovic, but the Djoko-Murray match was pretty harsh physically. I'm gonna go with Nadal on this one.

 

[Netspirit]

Nadal. Djokovic is mentally and physically drained.

But he'll kick some major ass at RG, for sure.

 

[babbette]

Even though I was kinda rooting for mooray I initially wanted Djoker in the final so Rafa can finally defeat him. So VAMMMMOOOSS RAFA YOU CAN DO THIS

Oooh i'm so excited!!!

Rafa if you don't bring your a game I will kill you

 

[sillymonkey]

Even though I was kinda rooting for mooray I initially wanted Djoker in the final so Rafa can finally defeat him. So VAMMMMOOOSS RAFA YOU CAN DO THIS

Oooh i'm so excited!!!

Rafa if you don't bring your a game I will kill you

VAMOS please VAMOS

 

[kishnabe]

Nadal in 2....

 

[tudwell]

Nadal in 2. Djoker is tired. He looked awful in the third set against Murray outside of the superb tiebreak he played.

 

[Legend of Borg]

Nadal in 2.

Nadaletes are practically begging Rafa to win for their sanity's sake.

 

[nadalbestclass]

I think this could really give Novak a lot of determination tomorrow. Nadal will have to bring his best, regardless of today's match. I am sure he will. He's a shark that's smelled blood. He's not gonna come on court passive.

 

[aceX]

Djokovic in 2

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Nadal needs to win this, otherwise I think he will be mentally destroyed going into the FO.

I prefer Djoker, but I think Nadal for this. Sticking with my pick from start of week. Too bad I am going to miss this one.

 

[nadalbestclass]

Nadal in 2.

Nadaletes are practically begging Rafa to win for their sanity's sake.

 

[MixieP]

Novak may be tired but Rafa is scared ****less, so the streak will continue. Djokovic in two fairly easy sets.

 

[All-rounder]

nadal in 2 for obvious reasons....

 

[babbette]

Nadal in 2.

Nadaletes are practically begging Rafa to win for their sanity's sake.

Maybe you can say Novak is our federer 8) or our nadal

 

[babbette]

nadal in 2 for obvious reasons....

he's better and superior??

 

[sillymonkey]

I think this could really give Novak a lot of determination tomorrow. Nadal will have to bring his best, regardless of today's match. I am sure he will. He's a shark that's smelled blood. He's not gonna come on court passive.

yea, he's pumped. That's why Murray winning would've been good. Bring Nole back to earth a bit, ya know?
But, since that didn't happen Rafa will have to seriously bring it and kick some Serbian but*ocks.

 

[nadalbestclass]

Maybe you can say Novak is our federer 8) or our nadal

It's looking that way, isn't it? :shock:

 

[defrule]

Nadal brought his knife to Madrid to face Djokovic who had a claymore. He won't make the same mistake and this time around he'll bring his sword and board to fight.

 

[niff]

Lol, forgone conclusion in 2.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Nadal brought his knife to Madrid to face Djokovic who had a claymore. He won't make the same mistake and this time around he'll bring his sword and board to fight.

Let's hope that Djokovic doesn't plan to make it into a gun fight.

 

[SikSerb]

This match could really come down to who plays with more heart. I dont think fatigue is going to be a major factor for Djokovic in the final to be honest. Its as if hes gone through that threshold already after going undefeated this whole year. Confidence is going to be key.

If Djokovic manages to win the final tomorrow I dont know how Nadal fans will console themselves. Im not even going to bother predicting the result.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

I hope Rafa wins. If he loses, Novak will break Federer's streak of 41 .

 

[babbette]

It's looking that way, isn't it? :shock:

I hope it won't last. :|

 

[nadalbestclass]

I hope Rafa wins. If he loses, Novak will break Federer's streak of 41 .

Woot Woot! That's should be inspiration enough to bring Fedfans over to the dark side. :twisted:

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Woot Woot! That's should be inspiration enough to bring Fedfans over to the dark side. :twisted:

I have been supporting Rafa over Novak in IW, Miami, and Madrid. Ask Babbette about it. 8)

 

[Zildite]

Djokovic looked human in the SF in set 2 and 3. Nadal is pretty good at beating humans, this is his best chance yet.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Djokovic ended Nadal's clay court win streak

Can Nadal return the favor?

Rafa in straight for me. I think first set will be tight, but he will race away in the second. I think Djokovic will fade away....too much tennis this season, it has got to catch up to him.

Nadal needs to make him pay for going the distance with Murray.

 

[TennisandMusic]

If Nadal plays his best he wins, regardless of Djokovic's output. That said, Nadal hasn't been there since the summer of 2010, and he got a major break with Djokovic playing such a hard fought match. If Nadal can't take advantage of Djokovic's surely lower level tomorrow, that would have to be quite disappointing for him. Nadal couldn't have asked for his opponent to go through a more physically grueling (and late!) match.

 

[JeMar]

No way Djokovic will have enough energy to compete with the best CCer in the game today. I didn't realize that Djokovic has less than a day to recover before the match tomorrow.

Things really could not have been better setup for Nadal tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

No way Djokovic will have enough energy to compete with the best CCer in the game today. I didn't realize that Djokovic has less than a day to recover before the match tomorrow.

Things really could not have been better setup for Nadal tomorrow.

It's even more extreme than that. That semi was mid day, and was the first match. Rafa had more time to rest. This went towards midnight, much less time for Novak. Rafa has got to take this one now.

 

[MixieP]

Djokovic ended Nadal's clay court win streak

Can Nadal return the favor?

Rafa in straight for me. I think first set will be tight, but he will race away in the second. I think Djokovic will fade away....too much tennis this season, it has got to catch up to him.

Nadal needs to make him pay for going the distance with Murray.

Nadal must have played almost as many matches as Djokovic this year. Can't be that big a difference.

 

[aldeayeah]

Set guy already lost his set, so Nole in 2.

Not really. I don't know. This is not Madrid clay, so I guess Nadal's the favorite.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Nadal must have played almost as many matches as Djokovic this year. Can't be that big a difference.

I think he has. But I sense Djokovic, having played three straight Sundays will be more tired, especially with how late and hard he was pushed by Murray, who I really thought should have won it.

 

[viduka0101]

Nadal must have played almost as many matches as Djokovic this year. Can't be that big a difference.

he's played two more matches I think

 

[chrischris]

If Rafa cant win this one , well he will be losing some hair.

 

[nadalbestclass]

If Rafa cant win this one , well he will be losing some hair.

As will I. LOL. Rafa will be in deep crud if he can't win.

 

[YodaKnowsBest]

Nadal in 2 easy sets. I will be suprised if the King takes it.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I agree with everything said on this page. SURELY, SURELY the king of clay should be able to win this match ?? Plz don't disappoint me Rafito.

 

[nadalbestclass]

Nadal in 2 easy sets. I will be suprised if the King takes it.

I think teh King will be surprised if he takes it.

 

[MixieP]

I think he has. But I sense Djokovic, having played three straight Sundays will be more tired, especially with how late and hard he was pushed by Murray, who I really thought should have won it.

Physically more tired, yes, it would be strange if he wasn't but you have to take the mental aspect into consideration as well. Novak is full of positive mental energy which may help him push through the fatigue.

And the pressure is on Nadal tomorrow. A defeat for Novak wouldn't be as costly as it would for Nadal. If Novak loses tomorrow it won't be such a big deal. Yes, his streak is broken but it's not like Nadal would have reasserted his authority over him.

But if Nadal loses tomorrow, it will be a massive blow to him and his reputation. These factors will be as important as the physical ones.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Physically more tired, yes, it would be strange if he wasn't but you have to take the mental aspect into consideration as well. Novak is full of positive mental energy which may help him push through the fatigue.

And the pressure is on Nadal tomorrow. A defeat for Novak wouldn't be as costly as it would for Nadal. If Novak loses tomorrow it won't be such a big deal. Yes, his streak is broken but it's not like Nadal would have reasserted his authority over him.

But if Nadal loses tomorrow, it will be a massive blow to him and his reputation. These factors will be as important as the physical ones.

Good post, all valid points, and I agree. But you can also roll that the other way, and say that is just what Nadal NEEDS to fire himself up enough to get over the finish line.

 

[TennisFan3]

In some ways when you play such a long match the day before you actually have nothing to lose and swing even more freely.

I expect Djokovic to come out firing, to be more aggressive and shorten points. He could get the first set.

What is good for Djokovic is that he would think of himself as an underdog. And as he showed in Madrid he has an excellent game plan against Nadal, which involves stretching Nadal wide and then attacking his backhand hitting up the line.

If anything Djokovic is playing better than he was in Madrid. Still today's match SURELY took a lot out of him. But even then Djokvic won't give up without a fight -he's in the confidence zone right now. And for Nadal the way he's played in Rome so far won't suffice against the Djoker, so that Spaniard will need to lift his game.

I expect Djokovic to win the 1st set, but Nadal to wear him down eventually and win in 3.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic somehow won - the guy is on a amazing confidence boost, it's hard to lose when you've forgotten how to for 6 months!

 

[MixieP]

Good post, all valid points, and I agree. But you can also roll that the other way, and say that is just what Nadal NEEDS to fire himself up enough to get over the finish line.

I certainly hope he's fired up properly. I want more of what we saw tonight. Epic battles. It's a great time for tennis fans.

 

[Cassius Clay]

I don't think Djoker's fatigue is going to be a big factor. He was faking during the match, stretching and making weird faces when he was down. Once he came back, all of a sudden his pains were gone.

Nadal has also had a difficult week, playing a 2h30m match in the 2nd round with a fever, he might be more rested now, but I would not dare to say he's at 100%. He's been kind of sluggish during the week.

Apart from that, If Nadal loses tomorrow I don't think it's a big deal, he's having a fastastic clay season so far (you cannot expect him to sweep the clay season every single year).

Points earned on clay by Nadal and Djokovic if Nadal loses tomorrow:

Nadal: 1000 + 500 + 600 + 600 = 2700 points.

Djokovic: 250 + 1000 + 1000 = 2250 points.

Djokovic would have one more M1000, but Nadal would have more points overall, so RG is going to be the judge concerning the clay kingdom.

 

[Magnus]

4th final between these two, but I stopped watching after the 2nd one. Truthfully, these two are above all others by quite a margin, yet I still can't find the will to watch their matches. Maybe its the time wasting that annoys me, or maybe its the fact I don't really care for either of them. Still, congrats to both and may the best man win.

Nadal in 2:

7-5 6-2

 

[cucio]

Nodal finals seem to be 2011's theme.

 

[nadalbestclass]

Nadal has also had a difficult week, playing a 2h30m match in the 2nd round with a fever, he might be more rested now, but I would not dare to say he's at 100%. He's been kind of sluggish during the week.

I disagree, he might not be a 100% but he's up there. He was not in the least bit sluggish today.

 

[tenis1]

Novak should have lost SF in 2 and go to Paris relaxed, rested and ready. Let Murray and Nadal kill each other in the final. Who cares about Rome, Nadal can have his cake draw title.

Novak should just retire and not play the final at all tomorrow.

We want RG!

 

[Hood_Man]

I'm beginning to think Novak could do it, but I've been saying for weeks that they'd both reach the final with Rafa winning, so I shall stick with Rafa in 3.