Novak Djokovic will roll into Roland Garros on a wave of momentum after beating Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday afternoon. Djokovic needed two hours and 20 minutes–perhaps tame by the standards of these two men this week in Rome–to capture his third title at the event, his third title of the season, and improve to 19-22 lifetime against Nadal.
“It’s been a great week considering where I’ve been a few weeks ago with the wrist injury,” Djokovic commented. “Luckily for me I played with no pain and increased the level of tennis as the week went on. I’ve had some tough matches. Four out of five matches were three-setters and I had to come back from one set down yesterday against (Milos) Raonic and today again. That gives me a lot of confidence. Winning against Rafa in the final of a big tournament on clay, his preferred surface, is definitely a confidence-booster.
“I felt that Novak was pushing me and has a great talent to play inside the lines,” Nadal assessed. “I think this week is important for me. I won 600 points. I was able to play in another final here. I was able to compete well against one of the best players of the moment. I arrive to Roland Garros now more encouraged than how I felt a few weeks ago.”
Highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rccro24N_Sw]
Djokovic breaks for 2-0 in the second set:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVyHPE8XWq0]
Djokovic interview:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbCZWtCFPRo]
Nadal y Djokovic 2 cracks en la pista y con el micro 👏👏! Fair play 👍!
— Alex Corretja (@alexcorretja74) May 18, 2014
Both Djokovic and Nadal is playing some incredible tennis giving the fans in Rome everything they were hoping to see. #masters2014 #rome
— Jonas Bjorkman (@BjorkmanTennis) May 18, 2014
This match is insane!!!!!!!! @TennisChannel
— Rennae Stubbs ♈️ (@rennaestubbs) May 18, 2014
[polldaddy poll=8058078]
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Is there a video or transcript of Rafa’s post final presser? I’ve only seen a quote here or there.
^^ed251137, google tennistopic, they usually carry audio…..
Fair play indeed, as Alex Corretja says! We were beat fair and square, can’t complain. Team Rafa has it’s work cut out for RG, Djokovic is determined to be a nuisance, clearly!
This is shaping up to be a quite tasty RG………..
Vamos Rafa!!
ps: @augusta, please salve our wounded souls with the usual cornucopia of Rafa news/pictures……merci!
We?
Doing my best impersonation of Uncle T there @chevelle 😉
RT @Sports_Greats: ”
— Train harder.
— Run faster.
— Aim higher.
— Be stronger.
— Play tougher.
IF YOU REFUSE TO BE STOPPED. YOU WON’T BE.”
Vamos Rafa!
The usual fascinating analysis of how the match was won and lost, from Craig O’Shannessy of the Brain Game:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/05/21/Rome-Brain-Game-Djokovic-Nadal.aspx
Didn’t see the match but was even surprised to see Rafa winning the first set, this is how it goes lately between these two, on any surface.
Rafa said it himself, against Novak you have to play a perfect match or nearly perfect.. and from what I’ve read, his performance was far from it.
Without wanting to draw to many conclusions from just one match, on has to say that the difference in winners alone is just embarrassing ….
Rafa is playing ok but nowhere near what he’s capable of and one starts doubting whether he has still has it in him to dig deeper, let us hope he finds his best form in his favourite tournament!
At least he leaves Rome having reached another final and beating very good players too.
They way things are going this season I’d be very surprised if Rafa lifts the Coupe des mousquetaires this year… but Rafa plays best when pressed against the wall, we all know that.
Who knows, maybe this pressure from Novak is really what Rafa needs to stay in the fight ..
Trawling throughout the blogosphere, the sense I am getting is, there is jubilation amongst the true Nole fans but studied realism as well where Novak’s RG chances are concerned. This is different from last year when Novak’s MC triumph over Rafa was greeted with such hubris some of them crowned Novak the King of Clay right there. Now there is a sober realism, that the Rome triumph may not translate to an RG triumph, an acknowledgment even of Rafa’s feat at RG. Welcome indeed, makes for civilized discussions.
Can’t wait for RG!
there’s no denying that the FO is wide open this year
(Relatively speaking)
Haha, nice try at anti-jinxing, Mr. Bodo:
http://espn.go.com/blog/peter-bodo/post/_/id/704/rafa-not-ready-to-give-up-his-castle
“Last week, Djokovic dedicated his wins to the victims of the terrible floods that swept through the Balkans, including his home town of Belgrade. The tragic events provided Djokovic with emotional fuel that helped him win — hence the heart in the clay after he defeated Nadal. He was declaring his solidarity. The downside, of course, is that when he’s uninspired, Djokovic is less dangerous. Nadal, who is — by far — the most diligent and motivated of players, has an advantage in this regard. Neither his highs nor his lows are as conspicuous as those of Djokovic.
And here’s an important caveat to this theme: The stade Roland Garros isn’t merely Nadal’s favorite facility, it’s his castle. A lot has been made of the fact that he uncharacteristically won only one of the Euroclay events this spring, but really, how many times does Nadal have to win Monte Carlo, anyway? Those losses won’t amount to a hill of beans for Nadal — if he retains his French Open crown. Djokovic may be more theatrical when it comes to the emotional game, but don’t for a moment imagine that Nadal isn’t also subject to bouts of inspiration.
5. Djokovic closed out Nadal in that third set with a flurry of tennis as near perfect as anyone can expect. But if that were the final of Roland Garros, the end of that set probably would have marked just a little better than the midway point of the match (on the theory that even at the worst of times, these guys are good for a long five-setter).”
So I guess, according to Mr. Bodo, we can describe Djokovic as…………mercurial?
Rafa at the post-final presser: “I arrive to Roland Garros now more encouraged than how I felt a few weeks ago.”
Tumbs up, Rafa!
https://twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/468407864567283712/photo/1
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/05/rafael-nadal-french-open-favorite-novak-djokovic
“Nadal’s winning percentage during his “slump” is still better than the career average of every active player.
It’s easy to lose perspective. For anyone else, one title, one finals loss and an 11-3 record during the European swing would be an exceptional way to enter the French Open. For Nadal, it’s catastrophe.
All of these numbers are only surprising because Nadal set the bar so high. We’ve been spoiled by his greatness so much that it makes the very good seem pedestrian. That 78.6 winning percentage is better than the lifetime clay winning percentages of every active player, including Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Nadal’s worst is better than everybody else’s best.
That’s why he’s still the favorite at the French Open. Even with the struggles, he has to be. This isn’t 2008, when you could start inscribing Nadal’s name on the trophy before he even arrived in Paris. But he’s still the man to beat, no matter how rough the rest of the season was.
When you’ve won eight of nine, it’s always your tournament to lose. The difference this time? For the first time in years, it’s also anyone’s tournament to win.
As long as he’s healthy, Rafael Nadal will always be the favorite at Roland Garros — not a co-favorite, not a contender, but the favorite.”
https://twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/468634377996730368/photo/1
^^Bellissimo!
Loved this quote: “Nadal’s worst is better than everybody else’s best.” And like Agassi said, until somebody beats the 8-time champion, he will remain the favorite.
I wouldn’t put it past Mama Djoker to have a T-shirt at the ready – just in case 🙁
proclaiming ‘The King of Clay is Dead’: ‘Long Live the New King’
She would worship the False King.
She is also probably right now making provisional arrangements for a homecoming to cap that of post Wimbledon ’11.
#Don’tCountOnThatCareerSlamMrs.D
It is a “catastrophe” in so far as much as not winning the French Open is a “catastrophe”.
Before Rome, Rafa was actually an even favourite to win against the rest of the field.
However, while he is still the favourite ahead of any other single player, he is a slight underdog against the rest of the field.
He is a very slight favourite over Nole and a few oddsmakers have them at equal odds.
What’s going for Rafa is the history of eight time champion including the last four years.
What’s going for Nole is recent performance from both players particularly over the last six months in terms of titles and head-to-head.
While I hope that the pressure gets to Djokovic, I wouldn’t count on it.
Rome was definitely encouraging overall. Rafa must continue to get as close as possible to his highest level AND be more efficient in the earlier rounds to have the strength required in the later rounds.
This major (as always) is completely up to Rafa.
#VamosRafaNoMatterWhat!!!
I’m not banking on Novak losing RG, I’m banking on Rafa winning it. As you say, it’s completely up to Rafa. A tweak here and there and he would have Novak under pressure should they meet at RG. He will do it.
Provided that either of them gets to the final
Who do people think has a better chance of losing before the final?
RG is best of 5 and I don’t see Rafa losing prior to the final. Nole on the other hand…maybe. But I agree that if both make the final, then I give the edge to Nole. Keep in mind no one has *ever* beaten Rafa in 5 sets (at RG, or Rome/MC/Hamburg when they were 5 sets).
Interesting question. While the way Nadal has been playing this clay court swing I wouldn’t entirely rule out someone beating him before the final, I still reckon that Djokovic is the less likely of the two to reach the final. Of the two most likely semi final opponents -against Wawrinka I would give Djokovic only slightly over 50:50 odds, and against Federer perhaps 70:30. For Nadal the odds would be far greater. Despite his losses in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, I cannot see either Nadal or Djokovic losing to another Spaniard, and of the young guns Nishikori and Raonic both would pose similar problems for either player.
when was the last time Djoker lost a match that wasn’t injury-plagued?
I don’t see him losing before the final
Ricky Dimon (at 8:06 pm)
What injury did Djoko had in Dubai?
The last time was the last time that Djokovic played a best of five set match, back at the Australian Open. I agree that neither Nadal nor Djokovic are likely to lose before the final, but I still reckon Djokovic is the more likely of the two to fail to get there. If they do meet in the final, I would though give the edge to Djokovic.
If Rafa and Djoker meet in the final, the weather may be the true Joker in the pack. Forecast is for rain on Sunday 8th June 2014 in Paris, in which case it will be advantage Novak if they are both in the final.
Djoker may not even be in the final. More players who can take him out before the final than Rafa.
The 2012 final got suspended for rain and Nole had the momentum…and then Rafa stormed back to win on a sunny monday.
I think it’s going to be interesting to see how this RG plays out. I will always go with Rafa, given his record at this event. That doesn’t mean he is a lock to get to the final. Neither is Novak. The draw should give us a better idea of what the path looks like..
Novak will go into RG with some good feelings after beating Rafa in Rome. He managed to salvage a disappointing clay season due to the wrist injury. He has to be feeling good about getting another win over Rafa on clay. But RG will be a whole other thing entirely. If it was easy to take out Rafa, then someone would have done it more than once. When Sod took out Rafa in 2009, it wasn’t a five setter. He only needed four sets against a Rafa who was clearly struggling with his movement. The knee tendinitis caught up with him.
We have seen Rafa struggle in the early rounds at RG in 2011 especially and even last year. It could be the same this year. Everyone will be gunning for Rafa to grab a piece of tennis history. Once Rafa gets through the first week, that’s when he starts peaking and getting into his best form. I hope that he doesn’t have to go through some long. drawn out battles in the early rounds. It’s true that in slam the players have a day of rest, but I just hope that Rafa doesn’t have to wear himself out in the early going.
It all depends on the draw and the weather. If its sunny advantage Rafa, if it is rainy and wet, advantage Nole
I still remember 2010, it was moist and cloudy and all gave advantage to Soderling as his flat shots would penetrate, we all know how that turned out. Rafa wrapped it up in 3.
In 2012, let us not forget Rafa dominated for first 2 sets and was up a break in 3rd. It was not the cloudy weather that did him in, it was the rain . It was all mud and the balls all got wet too which took off all juice off his FH
Oh Roland, behave…………
RT @rolandgarros : “BREAKING WEATHER FORECAST NEWS – Big scoop, it’s still raining. Matches won’t start before noon. #RG14”
The above made me think of the time, in the middle of a particularly bad summer, when the French TV weather man announced with an absolutely straight face “and tomorrow there is a slight risk of some sunny intervals.” I cracked up.
^^^^The weather was the reason I gave up on spending a fortune and fighting my way through Paris traffic jams to go to RG. Each time I had tickets I swear more time was spent huddling in the cold under an umbrella than watching tennis. The first time I went happened to be Rafa’s maiden RG. I’d read about him but never seen him play (those were the days before I had satellite TV) so the impact of clapping eyes on him was even greater. People who’ve seen him in action will confirm what a mesmerising experience that is. I treasure the memories of those times but today I’m content to watch him from the comfort of my own home.
^^Lucky girl! I have promised myself to go see Rafa live before he retires. Will be even better to do it whilst he is still “hot”………..
You must, you must. Even if it rains.
Saw Rafa beat Nole in a 3rd set tie-break in Montreal SF last year including beaning him in the face.
#BucketList