To me, one of the best matches played between Djokovic and Nadal was the finals of the 2012 Australian Open final. Some felt it dragged on and on, and certainly, played over 6 hours with numerous breaks between points, the match could have been played at a zippier pace. However, after the grueling 2011 US
There's a reason that Djokovic is number 1 in the world. There's also a reason that Rafael Nadal is the king of clay. For about a set and a half, everything seemed to be going Nadal's way. Did Djokovic tweak his ankle? Was this a forgone conclusion? Nadal took the first set 6-4 and had
Another day until the big French Open semis. Let's make some predictions. Nadal vs. Djokovic Because it is the French Open, and there is a viable French player still alive in the semis, Nadal will face Djokovic in the first semifinal of the day, even though most tennis fans realize this is the de facto
Keen observers noted that all four quarterfinals pitted a two-handed backhand player against a one-handed backhand player. In 3 of the 4 quarterfinals, the two-hander was the higher seed: the sole exception was Roger Federer. In yesterday's quarterfinals, Roger Federer lost in straight sets to the powerful Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, leading to a possibility that
There's something about Nadal that makes Federer fans edgy. Anytime they see an issue, say, a 4-set win over Brands or a 4-set win over Klizan, they think Nadal is vulnerable. They're waiting for him to falter. Surely, he can't recover. They create scenarios in their head about someone making that upset. People forget that
For a set and a half, Rafa was having a Lukas Rosol moment. Rosol, for those that don't pay attention, was the lowly ranked player that upset Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon last year, a loss that sent Rafa to 7 months away from the tour. Rosol achieved this by belting the ball.
With Andy Murray withdrawing days before the start of the French Open, Roger Federer suddenly moved to the second seed, and that meant he didn't have to see Novak Djokovic until the finals. As the third seed, he could have met both Djokovic and Nadal to win an elusive French. But with Nadal as the
Federer certainly wasn't favored reaching the final. He played better in Rome than he did in Madrid, but struggled a bit against Paire in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Nadal had upped the level of aggression in his own game. While Nadal would never admit that he looks past Federer, he knows the kind of game to
Even though many have said Djokovic-Nadal or even Djokovic-Murray has replaced the rivalry of Federer-Nadal, people still get excited about the prospect of the two meeting. Admittedly, clay is Rafa's best surface, having lost fewer matches on the surface than anyone who has played as long as Rafa has played. The rivalry has lost its
Stan Wawirnka had come into the finals playing some of the best tennis in his life. But there were signs that maybe he wasn't ready to take on the king of clay. Wawrinka won Portugal last week, so he's been playing almost two consecutive weeks of tennis. Once upon a time, a player like Guillermo
