Rafael Nadal is one win away from his ninth consecutive Monte-Carlo title. Standing in his way on Sunday is arch rival and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be going head-to-head for the 34th time in their careers when they collide in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday afternoon.
Nadal leads the series 19-14, including a dominant 12-2 on clay. The Spaniard won their first nine encounters on the slow stuff before Djokovic scored a measure of revenge two years ago in Madrid and Rome. Their three most recent meetings came during last spring’s clay-court swing, with Nadal prevailing in Monte-Carlo, Rome, and at the French Open (all in title matches).
Djokovic finished runner-up to Nadal last season (and in 2009), but his return trip to the final was never a sure thing. After sustaining an ankle injury earlier this month during Davis Cup action, the top-ranked Serb needed three sets to get past both Mikhail Youzhny and Juan Monaco. However, he picked up the pace to beat Jarkko Nieminen and Fabio Fognini in straight sets. Overall for his 2013 campaign, the Australian Open champion is 24-2.
“Djokovic brings you to the limit of your game if you want to have chances to win,” Nadal assured. “I know I have to play better than what I did today and yesterday to try to win tomorrow. I have to play more aggressive.”
Nadal struggled against both Grigor Dimitrov and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his last two matches, losing a set to Dimitrov and squandering a 5-1 lead in the second set against Tsonga before clinching it in a tiebreaker. The world No. 5 opened with easy victories over Marinko Matosevic and Philipp Kohlschreiber and he is now an outstanding 21-1 for the season.
“Whenever you play Rafa, you know what to expect,” Djokovic noted. “You expect the toughest challenge possible on clay. I’m ready for that. I’m very happy that physically, mentally, emotionally I have been improving as the tournament was going on. Each day I feel better on the court, more confident.”
That is good news Djokovic, who always has to be considered an underdog on this surface against the King of Clay. This is a big step up in competition for the No. 1 seed and he may not be quite ready for it until Rome or Roland Garros. If he is close to 100 percent, though, a high-quality thriller has to be expected.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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Djokovic vs Nadal could turn out to be the greatest tennis rivalries ever, if these champs continue to play at their very best.
If you are interested in their head to head analysis, you can read about it here:
http://www.stevegtennis.com/2013/04/djokovic-vs-nadal-head-to-head-and-rivalry-key-matches-and-stats/