2019 Rome FINAL: Novak Djokovic (1) vs Rafael Nadal (2)

[Deleted member 77403]

For Djokovic. Not so much Nadal. Even if Djokovic loses, he will get a taste on what needs to be done at @RG

I think Nadal needs it also to be honest. He needs to know where Novak's game is at, it is one thing watching it on TV, another feeling it on the court. How much spin is he putting on the ball, what his trajectories over the net are like. etc. This is homework for both, of course in the shadow of a big title that needs to be won.

 

[Jonas78]

Both fresh i would go with Djokovic, but how will almost 6 hours of play in 2 days affect him? Its open but i say Nadal in 3.

 

[Tenez!]

Lol, trust me, Nadal's loss in RG 2015 had nothing to do with his loss in Monte Carlo. Both matches were absolutely NID given Nadal's form that year.

Nadal was crap all year around in 2015. I didn't expect him to beat Djokovic that year but he isn't bad now as he was in 2015, far from it.

You make a claim: Clay Masters defeats are no indicator of RG at all.
I show you are mistaken: MC 15 foreshadowed RG 15.

Do you then admit you are wrong and adjust your statement?
Nooo. Much easier to just spout hackneyed nonsense about your idol being "a different player" when he loses.

What about these last 3 clay losses? It's like talking to cultists.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Excite mode at high level.

 

[tennisaddict]

Credit to Novak for not giving up today. He could have thrown in the towel when it went to set 3. He must be high on confidence to beat Rafa.

 

[Sport]

Djokovic in straight sets. This matchup in recent years is just as bad as Djokovic-Nishikori. Nadal just can't play against Djokovic mentally, and given his struggles against worse players during the clay season I expect Djokovic to win this like in AO final.

As always, your comments are the opposite from intelligent.

Nadal dominates Djokovic 16-7 on clay. In other words, Nadal has won 70% of his clay matches against Djokovic.
Nishikori is 0-7 against Djokovic on clay. Nishikori has won 0% of his clay matches against Djokovic.

And if you go by "recent" years, Nadal is 4-0 in sets against Djokovic on clay since 2017.

Can Djokovic win? Yep of course, he is a fantastic clay player. But to compare Nishikori (0% of victories on clay against Djokovic) with Nadal (70% of victories on clay against Djokovic) is far from an intelligent analogy.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Tell me about it. He will compete well but how far his body allows him to go is up in the air. In 2016, he just had nothing left for a well rested and on fire Murray and laid an egg against Zverev in 2017.

And I've just seen that the final starts at 3 o'clock BST which IIRC is an hour earlier than the final in 2016! Novak will do well to win more than six games if the match gets underway at that time. Oh well, looks like that elusive 5th title will have to wait another year.....

 

[tennisaddict]

I see this match as a precursor for the RG final. Don't see anyone else make it to RG finals.

Actually it is a win - win for Novak.

Should he lose tomorrow, he knows he is tired - yet get to know current Rafa level

If he wins tomorrow then he goes high on confidence knowing that despite a tight schedule, long 3 set matches and a title run at Madrid, he could get it done

 

[Deleted member 77403]

As always, your comments are the opposite from intelligent.

Nadal dominates Djokovic 16-7 on clay. In other words, Nadal has won 70% of his clay matches against Djokovic.
Nishikori is 0-7 against Djokovic on clay. Nishikori has won 0% of his clay matches against Djokovic.

And if you go by "recent" years, Nadal is 4-0 in sets against Djokovic on clay since 2017.

Can Djokovic win? Yep of course, he is a fantastic clay player. But to compare Nishikori (0% of victories on clay against Djokovic) with Nadal (70% of victories on clay against Djokovic) is far from an intelligent analogy.

Correct. Nadal has won the last two matches, irrespective of the form. Djokovic hasn't beaten Nadal on clay for three years. I am surprised anyone will say Nadal doesn't have a chance here, he has a good chance here IMO considering the situation.

 

[uscwang]

On a side note, Djokovic reached his 9th final in Rome. In no other tournament he is even close to this number of finals. Somehow he had a lot of success in this event.

He played 8 finals in the US Open ...

 

[vernonbc]

Rafa for the win tomorrow for his NINTH Rome Championship. Nine. That will be amazing to go along with his eleventh Monte Carlo and his eleventh Barcelona and, most notably, his eleventh Roland Garros. Such amazing numbers. No one else comes close or will in the future.

 

[AndyM]

70% chance of rain tomorrow

 

[WhiskeyEE]

Correct. Nadal has won the last two matches, irrespective of the form. Djokovic hasn't beaten Nadal on clay for three years. I am surprised anyone will say Nadal doesn't have a chance here, he has a good chance here IMO considering the situation.

Has Nadal ever beaten Novak on clay in these muggy conditions? Can't recall it. Even in 2012 when Nadal was in amazing form he was losing the final when the conditions got bad for him.

Even Diego was beating Nadal at RG last year before they suspended play. Then it was hot and sunny the next day.

 

[romeo8880]

So the winner of this final will be the No.1 favourite for Paris or what ?

Don’t think so Bc dork might be tired. He won’t be tired at RG

 

[AndyM]

Only 62° Fahrenheit so the ball is not going to be hopping up

 

[NoleFam]

And I've just seen that the final starts at 3 o'clock BST which IIRC is an hour earlier than the final in 2016! Novak will do well to win more than six games if the match gets underway at that time. Oh well, looks like that elusive 5th title will have to wait another year.....

What happened to 4 o'clock? I hope it rains and they have to start late.

 

[AndyM]

Djoker should play lot of those great drop shots and in the first set to kind of get to the flags of Nadal

 

[AndyM]

Legs lol not flags

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Has Nadal ever beaten Novak on clay in these muggy conditions? Can't recall it. Even in 2012 when Nadal was in amazing form he was losing the final when the conditions got bad for him.

Even Diego was beating Nadal at RG last year before they suspended play. Then it was hot and sunny the next day.

Hamburg 2008

 

[Deleted member 77403]

What happened to 4 o'clock? I hope it rains and they have to start late.

Looks like it will rain and the sun will be covered. That means the ball is not going to bounce as high as Nadal would like. It could be raining potentially until 6 in the evening.

 

[NoleFam]

Looks like it will rain and the sun will be covered. That means the ball is not going to bounce as high as Nadal would like. It could be raining potentially until 6 in the evening.

I hope it rains until 6 because Novak needs to rest. The conditions favor Novak but Nadal will be fresher, so I have to give him the edge. He has more in the tank.

 

[tennisaddict]

Looks like it will rain and the sun will be covered. That means the ball is not going to bounce as high as Nadal would like. It could be raining potentially until 6 in the evening.

Poor Nadal. Let that guy get one title. If he is not winning tomorrow, it could also mean he may end with no titles to show this year.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Wow, Novak fans are downplaying his chances massively and even suggesting he should "withdraw?"

Djoker's won 13 out of their 16 last matches, regardless of surface. If that's not domination, I don't know what is. This is not anywhere near peak Nadal either. The last time Nadal physically outlasted Djoker in any match was in 2013 was at the FO and then Canada. That's six years ago.

Having witnessed a decade of mental owning of Rafa over Roger, Djokovic now enjoys that type of mental dominance over Nadal. It doesn't matter if he's tired and Rafa's fresh as a daisy. It doesn't matter if Novak played until 4:00 am and has 5 hours of rest prior to the final and Nadal's been on his yacht kicking back. The AO and Wimbledon finals should also have proven it doesn't matter if Nadal's the in-form player and Djokovic's been mediocre. When Djokovic meets Nadal or Fed, he becomes an absolute human wall.

 

[Noleberic123]

Nadal in 2 is probably the safest prediction considering Djokovic's physical state

 

[WhiskeyEE]

Wow, Novak fans are downplaying his chances massively and even suggesting he should "withdraw?"

Djoker's won 13 out of their 16 last matches, regardless of surface. If that's not domination, I don't know what is. This is not anywhere near peak Nadal either. The last time Nadal physically outlasted Djoker in any match was in 2013 was at the FO and then Canada. That's six years ago.

Having witnessed a decade of mental owning of Rafa over Roger, Djokovic now enjoys that type of mental dominance over Nadal. It doesn't matter if he's tired and Rafa's fresh as a daisy. It doesn't matter if Novak played until 4:00 am and has 5 hours of rest prior to the final and Nadal's been on his yacht kicking back. The AO and Wimbledon finals should also have proven it doesn't matter if Nadal's the in-form player and Djokovic's been mediocre. When Djokovic meets Nadal or Fed, he becomes an absolute human wall.

lol. Pretty much. Novak really also just knows how to play Nadal. We wondered how the new Nadal would match up against Novak and at the AO we got our answer.

Still wouldn't be surprised to see Nadal win, but I think Novak's the favourite.

edit: Betting odds have Nadal as a clear favourite though. Is Novak really physically hindered? Must be by those odds. I didn't watch his match today.

 

[AndyM]

I hope it gets delayed by 3 hours by rain

 

[tennisjedi]

Djokovic in straight sets.
Nadal still has a mental block.

 

[CYGS]

Djokovic in 2

 

[Yugram]

Looks like it will rain and the sun will be covered. That means the ball is not going to bounce as high as Nadal would like. It could be raining potentially until 6 in the evening.

But according to you Nadal is now a better fast surface player than clay player. So low bounce means Djoko has no chances at all, no?

 

[TheIntrovert]

Rafa in straights

 

[tudwell]

Feels like Paris to me. Novak probably tired after a couple tough matches, then a final against an in-form opponent. Won’t be shocked if he wins by any means, but I think Nadal has the edge going into it.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

But according to you Nadal is now a better fast surface player than clay player. So low bounce means Djoko has no chances at all, no?

Right, because me saying what Tsitsipas stated to describe how he feels about Nadal's game is the same as what Djokovic will say about his game.

Nadal's game now matches up better against some players better on faster surfaces, while others on clay, while back in his prime, it was clay for everyone.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Good matches from Novak in last 2 rounds. Hope he continues till Rogers cup. Novak in 3.

 

[Darwinovic]

Can't wait. No clear favorite for now. The type of match I like.

 

[jm1980]

I see this match as a precursor for the RG final. Don't see anyone else make it to RG finals.

Actually it is a win - win for Novak.

Should he lose tomorrow, he knows he is tired - yet get to know current Rafa level

If he wins tomorrow then he goes high on confidence knowing that despite a tight schedule, long 3 set matches and a title run at Madrid, he could get it done

Unless he gets absolutely crushed, of course

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

I think Djo will try to come out and might eek out the first set, then Nadal will bang out the next two.

Nah...
If djoker takes the 1st set, he'll run away with it.
Novak is the best front runner on the ATP tour as of now

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Will be a cracker. Hopefully isn’t too spent from his previous battles. Whatever happens though, they 2 are big favourites for Paris! This match comes at just the right time for both.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

That is true.

This is the match that needed to happen IMO.

Perfect time for it to happen. Just before the big one in Paris! Both djoko and Rafa are raising their level and looking to hit peak form in Paris? Looking forward to the battle ahead!

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Perfect time for it to happen. Just before the big one in Paris! Both djoko and Rafa are raising their level and looking to hit peak form in Paris? Looking forward to the battle ahead!

This has been one crazy clay court season, but we get our annual Djokodal on clay match.

How incredible is it that with the exception of 2010, Nadal and Djokovic have faced off on the clay at least once in every season from 2006 to now.

 

[Zardoz7/12]

Djokovic in 2, I sense a repeat of 2011 in Rome when Djokovic went through a marathon with Murray in the semis only to dominate Nadal in the final, Djokovic loves being pushed to the limit and he usually fights harder vs his main rivals. Nadal isn't at his best, he's improving with every tournament since the start of the Clay season which puts him as favourite for the French Open.

 

[er4claw]

Bull was giving TTW false hope with his earlier "losses". Bull will now demoralize TTW, win rome and win rg without dropping a set. Wimbledon will fall next as RAFA has been tranistioning to a grass court specialist.

 

[Day_Tripper]

The biggest issue for Nadal will be mental. Don't underestimate how much the Aust Open demolition will be weighing on his mind. I expect Nadal's level to drop considerably against Djokovic and for Novak to take full advantage.

 

[TennisFan3]

Djokovic in straights. It will be a bloodbath with bakery products.

Even TsiTsipas said Nadal isn't playing much better than before. He says Nadal's level was far higher in Australia.

 

[TennisFan3]

The biggest issue for Nadal will be mental. Don't underestimate how much the Aust Open demolition will be weighing on his mind. I expect Nadal's level to drop considerably against Djokovic and 4for Novak to take full advantage.

Let's be realistic, Nadal's level was is high in the first place. Plus he is mentally spooked.

Even if he were 100% mentally, he would still lose because he is not at his best. With mental issues, it will be a demolition.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Nadal will dropshot Djokovic to death

 

[tennis4jags]

I would say, Nadal starts very aggressive and then Djoker comes back with his usual annoying roars. But eventually Nadal will win.. this is very emotional win for him to gain confidence

 

[I Am Finnish]

This match will decide who will win RG

 

[helterskelter]

Poor Nadal. Let that guy get one title. If he is not winning tomorrow, it could also mean he may end with no titles to show this year.

@vive le beau jeu ! and I approve the third sentence. Not sure what's going on in that mess of a second sentence, however.

 

[Djokovic2015]

Either Djokovic or Nadal in either 2 or 3 sets.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Most signs point towards Nadal winning this one, but if anyone can beat him on clay, it's Earth's Mightiest Warrior. Ajde Nole!