Madrid 2011 F: [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP)

What will be the result of the men's single final in Madrid?

  • Djokovic in 2

    Votes: 31 25.6%

  • Djokovic in 3

    Votes: 38 31.4%

  • Nadal in 2

    Votes: 23 19.0%

  • Nadal in 3

    Votes: 29 24.0%
  • Total voters
    121
Aeropax

Aeropax

Rookie
Both having won their semi-finals in three sets. Djokovic over Bellucci and Nadal over Federer respectively.
 
what time is it in spain now? like 9? not a lot of time to recover like Migi said. Novak could lose the 1st set before he's loosened up. I wish I could bet on this.
 
Nadal in 2 of course. Djokovic isnt even playing close to well enough on the clay yet to challenge Nadal.
 
bolo said:
what time is it in spain now? like 9? not a lot of time to recover like Migi said. Novak could lose the 1st set before he's loosened up. I wish I could bet on this.
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FInal is at 18:30 local time. so LOT of time for Djokovic to recover.

Most NOTABLY, his match was 30 minutes shorter than the Fed-Nadal match.

Last time I checked it was Nadal who complained of being tired against Djokovic in Miami.

Djokovic also has the additional benefit of playing against a left-hander (baby Nadal) with a top spin forehand and a similar backhand.

So Djokovic won't need time to adjust to Rafa's game. Because it's always difficult to get used to the serve and spin of a lefty after playing a series of righties.

IMO, Nadal is up against it. This is a MUST win match for him. If Novak beats him on clay, in a 3rd consecutive final, then Nadal's status as the best player of world would come under question.

Nadal was playing defense defense defense against Fed. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal goes with the war of attrition gameplan tomorrow. Such a scenario could very well entail a 4-hour marathon, two hours of which will be Nadal hitting short FH topspin strokes to Djokovic's BH, which Djokovic handles easily.

This would be a mistake, however, because Nadal needs to be aggressive, and will have to raise his level considerably from what he displayed today against Federer. More passivity and longer matches will only lead to knee problems in RG/Wimbledon or both..
 
Most likely Nadal but ehh, I'm quite unsure. I'm expecting one of them to come out fast.
 
Either Nadal in 2 or Djokovic in 3. Either Nadal will send the message that he's still the undisputed king of clay or Djokovic will say "I'm here to threaten you, Rafa" and the anticipation continues regarding the unbeaten streak.
 
TennisFan3 said:
FInal is at 18:30 local time. so LOT of time for Djokovic to recover.

Most NOTABLY, his match was 30 minutes shorter than the Fed-Nadal match.

Last time I checked it was Nadal who complained of being tired against Djokovic in Miami.

Djokovic also has the additional benefit of playing against a left-hander (baby Nadal) with a top spin forehand and a similar backhand.

So Djokovic won't need time to adjust to Rafa's game. Because it's always difficult to get used to the serve and spin of a lefty after playing a series of righties.

IMO, Nadal is up against it. This is a MUST win match for him. If Novak beats him on clay, in a 3rd consecutive final, then Nadal's status as the best player of world would come under question.

Nadal was playing defense defense defense against Fed. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal goes with the war of attrition gameplan tomorrow. Such a scenario could very well entail a 4-hour marathon, two hours of which will be Nadal hitting short FH topspin strokes to Djokovic's BH, which Djokovic handles easily.

This would be a mistake, however, because Nadal needs to be aggressive, and will have to raise his level considerably from what he displayed today against Federer. More passivity and longer matches will only lead to knee problems in RG/Wimbledon or both..
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Good post!

Going with Djokovic, hoping he wins and we get a new champion on clay. A win here certainly makes tennis more interesting leading into the FO imho.
 
I'm just worried about Djokovic's shape right now. While Rafa hardly had any strenuous match in this tournament besides maybe today's match against Federer (and even then, he had a walkover on his way), Djokovic has been through two very physically and mentally demanding matches in Ferrer, Bellucci just now who played formidably well, and now he's into another promising and expected marathon against Nadal tomorrow...

That will certainly be his apex fitness challenge so far...
That is a match Nadal must win for many reasons. Tomorrow, much will be at stake. This match is huge.
 
The French Open is much more important than tomorrow. Tomorrow's match is more huge for Djokovic, from a confidence point of view of knowing he can beat Nadal on clay, even in a best of 3 sets format.
 
Mustard said:
Either Nadal in 2 or Djokovic in 3. Either Nadal will send the message that he's still the undisputed king of clay or Djokovic will say "I'm here to threaten you, Rafa" and the anticipation continues regarding the unbeaten streak.
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I'd agree with Mustard here.

Unlike Mustard though, I'm hoping for a Novak win ;)
 
i would like it to be Djokovic in 3...

but i believe that Nad will end his run. For sure i expect some great stuff tomorrow.
 
Both started slowly today, maybe its a case of who can get out of the blocks quicker and put their own style on the match.

I hope for tennis sake Djokovic wins.
 
rainingaces said:
Both started slowly today, maybe its a case of who can get out of the blocks quicker and put their own style on the match.

I hope for tennis sake Djokovic wins.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Will make things exciting heading into the FO for sure.
 
I've seen some people say that if Nadal loses tomorrow, it would be "disastrous". I disagree. There's nothing on the line tomorrow to merit disaster, and we have to see the bigger picture.

If Nadal wins tomorrow, it gives him a lot of momentum in terms of confidence and I think Djokovic's French Open chances would take a knock. If Djokovic wins, on the other hand, he remains on track of toppling the king of clay, although there's still a long way to go, and the French Open is Nadal's domain.
 
Mustard said:
I've seen some people say that if Nadal loses tomorrow, it would be "disastrous". I disagree. There's nothing on the line tomorrow to merit disaster, and we have to see the bigger picture.

If Nadal wins tomorrow, it gives him a lot of momentum in terms of confidence and I think Djokovic's French Open chances would take a knock. If Djokovic wins, on the other hand, he remains on track of toppling the king of clay, although there's still a long way to go, and the French Open is Nadal's domain.
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if Nadal loses it will happen the same thing that happened to fed.Djokovic has only to win from this.For Nadal a loss=confidence smashed, i mean the guy already has confidence problems with his backhand(this you can't disagree).
 
I'll also say that it's in Nadal's interests that this unbeaten streak of Djokovic's is ended as soon as possible. It's a distraction from Nadal's achievements on clay so far this year.
 
Pressure is on Nadal.I mean everyone expects him to win, he is the clear favorite, if he loses this could equal 2009 Madrid loss and it would mean huge confidence for nole and maybe even the rest of the tour.
 
oh how sweet will it be if Rafa wins tomorrow, I haven't been this interested in a match result in a looooong time
 
Mustard if nadal loses at Roland Garros I don't think it will because Federer, Murray or Djokovic beat him. Someone tall and powerful like soderling or berdych.

Nadals achievements on dirt so far this year have been tedious to even mention.
 
Fate Archer said:
I'm just worried about Djokovic's shape right now. While Rafa hardly had any strenuous match in this tournament besides maybe today's match against Federer (and even then, he had a walkover on his way), Djokovic has been through two very physically and mentally demanding matches in Ferrer, Bellucci just now who played formidably well, and now he's into another promising and expected marathon against Nadal tomorrow...

That will certainly be his apex fitness challenge so far...
That is a match Nadal must win for many reasons. Tomorrow, much will be at stake. This match is huge.
Click to expand...

LOL, Novak had a nice long break, why should he have any trouble physically?
 
Mustard said:
The French Open is much more important than tomorrow. Tomorrow's match is more huge for Djokovic, from a confidence point of view of knowing he can beat Nadal on clay, even in a best of 3 sets format.
Click to expand...

Roland Garros is indeed more important than Madrid, but tomorrow's result can be very meaningful. Nadal is certainly the favorite, both by historic and from a physical stand of point. If he can't beat Djokovic who is undefeated against him or anyone this year under these conditions and on his safe and sacred stronghold of clay which most people expect him to win, then the little mental edge Novak has over Nadal could become a gap... and Nadal most definitely doesn't want that.

Nadal fully comprehends how mental this game is... the last thing he probably wishes for himself is having any kind of doubt at this level.
 
viduka0101 said:
oh how sweet will it be if Rafa wins tomorrow, I haven't been this interested in a match result in a looooong time
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djokovic is the one that is crushing all walls, since 2007, maybe he will do it with Nadal-clay king one day..
 
Fate Archer said:
Roland Garros is indeed more important than Madrid, but tomorrow's result can be very meaningful. Nadal is certainly the favorite, both by historic and from a physical stand of point. If he can't beat Djokovic who is undefeated against him or anyone this year under these conditions and on his safe and sacred stronghold of clay which most people expect him to win, then the little mental edge Novak has over Nadal could become a gap... and Nadal most definitely doesn't want that.
Click to expand...

But we already know that the conditions in Madrid are not the best for Nadal and that he is probably more vulnerable here than anywhere else on clay.

Fate Archer said:
Nadal fully comprehends how mental this game is... the last thing he probably wishes for himself is having any kind of doubt at this level.
Click to expand...

I agree. As I said before, it's in Nadal's interests that this unbeaten Djokovic streak in 2011 is ended as soon as possible. He's had 2 bites of the cherry this year and just came up short. Now he has a third chance.
 
cocolate said:
if Nadal loses it will happen the same thing that happened to fed.Djokovic has only to win from this.For Nadal a loss=confidence smashed, i mean the guy already has confidence problems with his backhand(this you can't disagree).
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Yup. I agree with you here. his confidence will take a hit for sure.

I dunno how Novak winning tomorrow is "good for tennis". What garbage. So one guy winning a majority of the tournaments since the beginning of the year is "good for tennis"? Novak wins tomorrow, the same guys seems to be dominating the tour. Rafa wins, the king of clay dominates his fav surface yet again. Same thing.
 
Rafael+Nadal+vs+Novak+Djokovic%252C+The+Final%252C+Sony+Ericsson+Open+2011%252C+ATP+World+Tour+Masters+Miami.jpg


Rafa has got to win this match or Novak will REALLY get in his head. I don't think Rafa is intimidated yet. But if he loses tomorrow, he will be. Bamos Rafa, if you can't take Novak out on clay who can stop him?
 
MichaelNadal said:
Rafa has got to win this match or Novak will REALLY get in his head. I don't think Rafa is intimidated yet. But if he loses tomorrow, he will be.
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That won't happen until he beats Nadal at a slam. Given the fact he had routinely beaten Nadal on hard courts, Rafa should have been intimidated at the USO, but he wasn't. For Nadal, a slam is a different world. Fed, too.
 
MichaelNadal said:
Rafael+Nadal+vs+Novak+Djokovic%252C+The+Final%252C+Sony+Ericsson+Open+2011%252C+ATP+World+Tour+Masters+Miami.jpg


Rafa has got to win this match or Novak will REALLY get in his head. I don't think Rafa is intimidated yet. But if he loses tomorrow, he will be. Bamos Rafa, if you can't take Novak out on clay who can stop him?
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Yep, I agree with you. It's the Ultimate Challenge. Novak will do to Rafa what Rafa did to Roger. Nadal not only loses on clay, but three straight finals, and has his clay streak ended by a guy who simply will not lose. That WILL get into his head.

wrestlemania-6-hulk-hogan-ultimate-warrior_2069676_70680.jpg
 
Antonio Puente said:
That won't happen until he beats Nadal at a slam. Given the fact he had routinely beaten Nadal on hard courts, Rafa should have been intimidated at the USO, but he wasn't. For Nadal, a slam is a different world. Fed, too.
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100% agree. Although it is true that a Djokovic win tomorrow would certainly be a step in the right direction for Djokovic, especially in terms of confidence.
 
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