One of the main reasons why Djokovic managed to defeat Nadal on Sunday in the ATP cup final was that Nadal was extremely tired from playing too many singles and doubles matches last week in the follow up to that final and Nadal's energy level was very low. In spite of that, the second set was extremely tight and it could have easily gone Nadal's way.
But in case Djokovic happens to meet Nadal in the Australian open final this year, Nadal will be extremely fresh, hungry and motivated coming into that match after one or two days of rest after the semifinal and therefore there is no guarantee that Djokovic will be able to repeat the same result against Nadal in a potential Australian Open final between the two.
I read many people in this forum stating in the past couple of days that Djokovic is a sure lock to beat Nadal in any of the future hard court encounters between the two just because he managed to win the last nine hard court encounters in straight sets. But I feel that this view is simply not true. Nadal is a true warrior and a tireless worker and is very much capable of reversing his hard court matchup against Djokovic in his favor at any time.
Actually Nadal himself is one of the greatest players on hard court, as his many hard court accomplishments including four US Open titles clearly prove. Therefore even though Djokovic may have won the last nine matches against Nadal on hard courts, that does not really mean much in Djokovic's future hard court matches against Nadal and Djokovic's winning streak against Nadal can come to an end at any time, may be in the Australian open final three weeks from now.
So I wish Djokovic and his fans do not get too much carried away and do not become over confident because of Sunday's result and they do not blindly assume that victory in the Australian open is guaranteed for Djokovic. I wish Djokovic and his fans do not take Nadal lightly in any of the potential future encounters between them even on hard courts.
But in case Djokovic happens to meet Nadal in the Australian open final this year, Nadal will be extremely fresh, hungry and motivated coming into that match after one or two days of rest after the semifinal and therefore there is no guarantee that Djokovic will be able to repeat the same result against Nadal in a potential Australian Open final between the two.
I read many people in this forum stating in the past couple of days that Djokovic is a sure lock to beat Nadal in any of the future hard court encounters between the two just because he managed to win the last nine hard court encounters in straight sets. But I feel that this view is simply not true. Nadal is a true warrior and a tireless worker and is very much capable of reversing his hard court matchup against Djokovic in his favor at any time.
Actually Nadal himself is one of the greatest players on hard court, as his many hard court accomplishments including four US Open titles clearly prove. Therefore even though Djokovic may have won the last nine matches against Nadal on hard courts, that does not really mean much in Djokovic's future hard court matches against Nadal and Djokovic's winning streak against Nadal can come to an end at any time, may be in the Australian open final three weeks from now.
So I wish Djokovic and his fans do not get too much carried away and do not become over confident because of Sunday's result and they do not blindly assume that victory in the Australian open is guaranteed for Djokovic. I wish Djokovic and his fans do not take Nadal lightly in any of the potential future encounters between them even on hard courts.
