weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Does RAFA have a mental block against nole now ? does he get discouraged when novak starts to handle him from the baseline ?
Definitely. But IMO this is not an insurmountable block because Novak is not as consistent as he was when he was Ultron. He's simply not as good as he once was, IMO. He CAN reach his top gear/level, but it happens less frequently than it used to and he is more prone to drops in his level. So Rafa will have his chances on this surface, unlike in Australia and when he does, he will begin to fight back/"bullieve."
IMO Rafa will have plenty of looks on Nole's serve today. The questions are whether or not Rafa can serve well - despite 60% first serve he dominated his service games due to excellent strategy/placement vs. Tsitsi - and whether or not Nole can be the human wall that he has the potential to be from the baseline or can Rafa hit through him. If Novak plays just as well as he did vs. Diego, he will lose. But I expect him to play better given that it is Rafa and a final he is facing.