Novak Djokovic repeats as champion in London with a straight-set victory over Rafael Nadal on Monday. Nadal ends his season with a 75-7 record.
Rafael Nadal may have won the war in 2013, but Novak Djokovic won this battle. In fact, Djokovic came out on top in every single one of his post-U.S. Open battles.
The world No. 2 improved to 22-0 during the fall swing and successfully defended his World Tour Finals title by beating Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 36 minutes on Monday night. Djokovic, also a recent champion in Beijing, Shanghai, and Paris, fired six aces without double-faulting and he dropped serve only once.
“One thing that made the difference in today’s match was the serve,” Nadal reflected. “I didn’t serve well; he served well. On this kind of court, the first shot is very important and he hit that first shot much better than me.”
The Spaniard recovered from an immediate donation of serve in the second game of the match by breaking his opponent at 1-3 in the first set. Djokovic started to spray backhands all over everywhere, but his gift-giving mode ended in a hurry. The second seed seized another scalp of the Nadal serve by converting break point at the end of a dramatic rally that concluded with a forehand volley winner. Back in front 5-3, Djokovic made no mistake with the set on his racket.
Set two was mostly one-way traffic, starting with a Djokovic break for 2-1. Nadal, who struggled to find the range on his forehand all day long, never could get back on serve. The world No. 1 did well to hold at 3-5, even saving a championship point with a punishing forehand down the line. If the pressure was on in the following game, Djokovic did not show it. After missing one more match point, Djokovic hammered an ace at deuce and clinched victory when Nadal set an inside-out forehand just wide.
“I think I’ve worked on a few things in my game and serve that has helped me win a lot of matches in last two months,” the winner explained. “This is definitely the best possible way that I can finish the season; the official ATP season, not including the Davis Cup final that I have in a few days’ time.”
Nadal still leads the overall head-to-head series 22-17, but Djokovic boasts a 13-7 advantage on hard courts.
“We push each other to the limit; we make each other better,” Djokovic said of the rivalry. “We make each other work harder on our games, especially when we play against each other. It’s always a huge challenge.”
“To be unmoderated there you either must be a fedfan fan or kiss up to him.”
But why do Nole fans kiss up to Fed or his fans? Nole’s greatness is not going to be helped by Fed, Fed cannot stop Rafa, so how does Fed help Novak?
I can understand Fedfans kissing up to Nole and Nolefans, to encourage Nole to win as much as possible thereby stopping Rafa’s march towards GOATdom. So in this case, Novak does help Fed’s cause.
Simply because fedfan still has a minuscule winning h2h vs Nole and Nole is no threat to fedfan’s legacy the way Rafa is. Also federazzi cling desperately to the hopes that Nole can stop Rafa from GOATdom (too late) so there is little animosity between the two factions.
I get the sense Nole fans had convinced themselves that Novak 2011 was here to stay, without competition, he had smote a fatal would to Rafa’s psyche, and I for one think Novak believed this as well. Now I see history repeating itself with his (customary) post USOpen HC run. The jingoism is reaching fever pitch, forgetting that 2013 was a repeat of 2012, and we all know how that movie panned out……………………..
@ritb,
IMO, his MC loss was more due to lack of match play than due to tiredness.
@augusta,
It’s not my hopes. I for sure do know that Rafa will win at least 3 more GS titles. That can happen even next year.
@NNY,
wasn’t Nole too just 2 games away from winning at the FO this year. Isnt that supposed to give him the belief?
I know, it’s a foolish thing to bet against Rafa at RG. But I said what I felt.
And to make it clear to some of you, I dont give a damn whether Rafa passes Fed’s GS tally or not. I admire Fed for his brilliant game and the beauty of it, not for the records that he has set. Records are meant to be re created and they will change as the time passes by be it Laver, Bjorg’s, Fed or Rafa’s.
And I definitely dont have any hopes on Nole. There are only 2 players out there about whom I do have hopes – Delpo and Muzzer. With Fed’s decline it has become even more important to rise up.
@abhirf, I used the phrase “fresh/not fresh” to refer to his lack of match play, not tiredness. So to recap, Rafa was not tired, but lacked match play, was rusty i.e. not fresh.
abhirf,
Yes Djoker was two games away from winning. Nobody said the match was non competitive or that Rafa was out of it. However, I will say that Rafa was never behind in that match. It was on his racket in the fourth set and he couldn’t serve it out and lost in the tb. In the fifth set Djoker was up a break, but that’s when Rafa went to a whole other level. That was his mental strength coming into play. Djoker didn’t have the same mental will to counter it.
I think how Rafa ultimately won that match is more evidence of how different it was from 2011. It was the one quality missing for Rafa at that time. Djoker was the one who was mentally stronger and could get one break and close out a set or even the match. That losing streak forced Rafa to reevaluate his game and strategy and tactics against Djoker. In 2012 Rafa seemed to have found the passion for the game again. He found his mental toughness. That would turn out to be the difference.
I never said that Djoker didn’t have the belief in the 2013 RG. He obviously believed that he could beat Rafa at RG this year. But when all was said and done, Rafa was the player who came up with the great shots to get the break back and ultimately win. Rafa had the belief that he would still beat Djoker at RG. His will trumped Djoker’s and that’s why he won.
Well put, nny. But I believe you have to add to it that Nadal was still not match-hardened, as ritb wrote. Else it would likely not have been that close (at times) a match.
^ important ‘for them’ to
rise up.
abhirf,
I hope you don’t feel we are ganging up on you re nole/rafa predictions for RG 14. My reading of this is that
a) you may have a slight bias and missing seeing the factor or Rafa’s march-readiness and lack of peak fitness last spring and thus you read Nole’s performance relative to Rafa as an ascending curve similar to Rafa’s at Wimbledon versus roger in 2006-2008… In other words, were it not for match hardiness and peak performance, evolving skills, and renewed confidence towards Nole… then yes, you could read the last years as simply an ascending curve on Nole’s side, as if RG against Rafa is all on Nole’s racquet, ie only a factor of his own improvement. I think that this is where our comments back to you are coming from.
and:
b) we rafans, on the other hand, have no bias in the matter, not even a slight one 😉
“we rafans, on the other hand, have no bias in the matter, not even a slight one”
Hahaha, love it!
Isn’t funny though how fans go to pains to put together an “objective” argument to justify their prediction that their guy is going to win? Why not just say, hey, this is my biased argument, my favourite is going to win?
chloro,
I absolutely agree that Rafa was not match-hardened and believe that I did make that point in my earlier response to abhirf. 🙂
Re Rafa and Soderling at RG 09. There is only one male player on tour who could have gone that far into the tournament, AND held off an absolutely on-fire Soderling for as long with very injured knee(s) and a broken heart on top of that. That result says about Soderling only that he can play very well at RG but not in the league of a healthy Rafa or an in-form Roger or Novak, and that he played that much closer to his best when he realised that Rafa was hurt or at least well below his usual level. That result, though, says a lot more about Rafa.
There may be an RG in the future when Rafa is injured enough again, I really hope this will not happen. And there may be an RG in the future when Rafa’s age will have caught up with him and be more important than his late-career skills can compensate for… this may take several years yet and it is possible that he will decide to retire by then. I don’t think he will push his knee to the very end of its ability in the last years, especially if he starts losing more often. He mentioned that he loves the game and loves to win and that when he will stop when he is losing often.
But barring injury or exhaustion etc Rafa will be a very tough one to take three from at RG. We have seen this in the last 9 RGs. I think it is a tougher thing to do than defeating Roger in his prime at Wimbledon. The difference between fedal at Wimbledon in 07, 08, and 09 and novak / nadal at RG in 13 is clear: Nadal was not at his usual level of fitness and match-readiness yet, even with the matches he had played. Same for MC13. Power to Novak for taking MC when it was more possible, and the first one to defeat Rafa there in the last 9 years. And power to Novak for almost taking 3 sets from a below-par Nadal at RG in one of the two years this was more possible (09, 13). Now the goal – the real grail – is to do it with an in-form and un-injured Nadal.
I believe (and it is my sincere hope) Rafa is going to choose his battles going forward. So, don’t expect him to go hell for leather each and every match. He does not need to. He just needs to win those matches he needs to. I would suggest his priorities should be as follows:
All Slams;
Monte Carlo;
Other Clay M1000s;
Barcelona
At least 2 HC M1000s
Oh, and if he feels like it…………………WTF.
That’s my wish list for 2014………..very modest, eh?
abhirf, so far you have failed to mention the name of the hospital in India where you claim you saw a few cases of mono.
abhirf, assuming that Nole can beat Rafa at RG because he beat Rafa at Rome and Madrid is totally fallacious. Fed beat Rafa at some clay Masters but he could never beat Rafa at RG. RG is a slam and is a best of 5 sets.
RG is Rafa’s fiefdom and while he may not kill himself to win clay Masters just as Nole did not kill himself this year to win Rome and Madrid, so also Rafa prioritizes.
Naming the hospital will expose my identity. I ain’t doing that on a public forum. If your delusional sister and friends didnt got to see any, I cant help it. Whether you believe or dont, it’s none of my concern.
Chloro,
it does seem to be a ganging up thing, but that is bound to happen here. I don’t mind it.
And I know that the match will be on Rafa’s racquet, but so was Fed’s at Wimby and USO. Didn’t Rafa and Nole, respectively finally got the result in their favour?
To me, Nole just seems to have reached that point where he has suffered enough losses. Of course it’s not as saying that Rafa won’t win.
And there is another player (Delpo) who can challenge and probably beat both of them on clay, but I wont pit it on him anymore.
As of now, the slams seem to be divided amongst the 3, with each getting a slam and one of them will get the 4th.
Pity. Just when I thought Holdserve had turned over a new leaf I see he has reverted to type.
ed,
Yes, I agree. This is most unfortunate. When it gets personal, nobody wins.
@ed
I find it really depressing that for some xtreme Rafa fans, unless u r 150% pro Rafa the whole time, u r by definition “anti Rafa.” Stifles debate INMHO
In the same way xtreme Fed fans can’/wont get that u can think he was/is one of the most wonderful players ever ON court, yet don’t really like his OFF court persona. If u think like this u r labelled a “hater.”
In the same way, I love Nole’s play, although I do not like some of his antics on court, it doesn’t stop me liking him. But does seem to have calmed down a bit, thank goodness.
Of course Andy is perfect in EVERY way…..;)
Hi Abhirf,
I am enjoying this conversation with you. Perhaps I can summarize this way what I’ve been trying to say, as usual using too many words 😉
When you mentioned Fedal Wimbledon and then Novak/Federer… the thing about fedal Wimbledon is that Rafa’s skill on grass were getting close to Roger’s in 07 and with his fighting spirit thrown in he came close to defeating Roger then but, by his own account, he choked because of the magnitude of his first slam on grass and more so of defeating the undisputed King of Grass in a final. Hence those copies tears in the locker room afterward. Come summer 2008 Rafa’s grass skills were essentially on par with Roger, as unbelievable that must have seemed, as was clear throughout the entire five hours match. Rafa did not drop a serve and came close to winning in 3, then 4. After the 4th set’s break he told himself that he had not done anything wrong, was playing plenty well enough to win and so to put behind himself the disappointment of not closing it out in either of those sets, and just play well enough in the fifth to win.
When it comes to Novak and Rafa on clay at RG, we have not yet seen Novak play at Rafa’s level when Rafa was in essentially OK form. Last spring this was not the case. Rafa had not yet played enough tournaments and his knee, well I wonder because of what happened at Wimbledon. In other words, IF we see Novak play at Rafa’s level on clay at RG at a time when Rafa is in normal form then we can expect that a match between them there could go either way. This has not happened yet once, and will not necessarily happen this spring. I see nothing in Novak’s game evolving to the point that would put him today in the league that so-far is exclusive to two men: Borg and Nadal. Until that maybe happens one day Novak would prevail over Rafa in 5 sets on clay only under special circumstances.
I do agree that Nole doesnt have that kind of a game to dominate on clay, but he does have a game to win matches on all surfaces. His probably only weakness, the slice to his BH wont bother him much on the clay due to the bounce, his defence is what is needed to win on clay, he is mentally really strong. Rafa’s form will have a lot to say in thier match up. But I have a feeling that Nole will overcome these things. He will find a way through it.
abhirf, what a bogus argument!.
Thousands of students are trained at a teaching hospital. So how can naming it reveal your identity?. It is like saying that if I reveal I studied at Stanford, you can guess my identity. What a laugh!!!
Stop making yourself ridiculous and stop calling my sister or me delusional. Your claim that revealing name of hospital will reveal your id exposes you totally as a fake. ,.
You are ed’s pet but unfortunately for you she has not come to your rescue this time to support your false claims.
abhirf, having fully exposed your fake claim, I am not interested in listening to more of your lies.
Goodbye everyone till AO 2014.
Vamos Rafa!!!! Be healthy!!!!! Don’t ever lose to Nole again!!!!!
Ricky, how’s about a little moderation here? Be a shame to see the only fedfan fan on your site (and a fair minded one at that) bullied outa here. How about a no personal attacks guideline.
holdserve, I like how you defend Rafa on Roger-X but there’s no need to get personal. With that statement I just made, I think I’m still a Rafan but feel free to correct me.
Vamos abhirf.
abhirf can handle hisself/herself/itself just fine. That guideline goes without saying. I will (and already have) deleted any attacks that are out of bounds.
yeah, Ricky. Thanks for that. I can handle such stuff on my own.
@deucy,
Yeah, seems like if one likes Nole’s game or even urges him to play better, then he definitely must be a Rafa hater. I could never understand the logic behind it.
abhirf,
I have been on the receiving end of similar comments when I dared to stand up for Djoker about the ankle injury he had before the clay court season started earlier this year. My loyalty to Rafa was called into question. I decided that I did not have to defend myself as a Rafa fan anymore. I am going to say what I think and if somebody can’t handle it, then that’s their problem.
I know that you can handle yourself, but there is no reason for anyone to be personally insulted. I very much want you to stay here and keep on posting your thoughts.
deucy,
Your post @ 9:29 a.m. said so much of what I feel. I am concerned about stifling debate because some fear that they will be accused of being anti-Rafa. We were all able to differentiate between the real fans and the haters and trolls on TT. I do not believe that s a Rafa fan, I am therefore necessarily precluded from saying anything supportive or positive about any other player.
One thing I try to keep in mind – I never want to be guilty of doing to people what some terrible Fed fans do to Rafa fans and anyone who doesn’t worship their guy.
I respect Fed, but don’t like his arrogance and some of his comments, especially when he loses. I respect Djoker, but don’t like some of his antics and attitude on court.
You know that I have cheered for Andy in the past when Rafa wasn’t playing.
We have an abundance of riches with all the talent in the men’s game today. I don’t see anything wrong with appreciating it.
Thanx!!
I’m not going anywhere.
I doubt that waiving a flag for Nole, or any other player, is the cause for incurring his wrath.
It’s the fact that Abhirf is a medical student which touches a raw nerve in Holdserve and provokes attacks full of bile and bitterness.
#DisplacementBehaviour
Nice humour! 😉
Probably, some Fed fan broke her heart, maybe that’s why she is full of hatred for them 🙂
Or perhaps it was a medical student. Ha Ha
BTW: Your adversary is male.
abhirf: Just wanted you to know….I adore Rafa, maybe more than anyone should, but I also like Novak and respect and enjoy watching his game. I dislike it when he beats Rafa, but I know that when he does, it’s because he’s outplayed him. Rafa himself will admit that. Just as Rafa is fine tuning his game to beat Novak, Novak is doing the same to beat Rafa. To me, their rivalry is much more compelling than Rafa’s rivalry with Roger ever was, because so often, the outcome is truly in doubt. If both players remain healthy, the next few years should be very interesting as we will see both of them continuing to find ways to defeat each other. I will look forward to reading all of your comments about their matches.
exactly!
This years USO final was the biggest disappointment for me. I just couldnt believe that 2 players who really put up a great show in the 2010 final would put up such a dismal show when they have escalated their level of play to much greater heights.It felt like Nole again entered the pre 2011 period, and still dont know why Rafa lost the faith in his game that brought him laurels this hard court season. He again went on to play his usual defensive behind the baseline stuff.
I think that match alone showed that their matches will be a mostly see-saw ones. The 2 still feel really nervous seeing each other on the other side of the net. There maybe occassional dominant wins like Nole had in Beijing or Rafa had on clay last year. but it will always be tough to pencil in a favorite, Probably, the one with the momentum from previous tournaments will steal the win.
Abhirf,
you are right about all you wrote in this last comment I think. And you are right that Nole can and often will be a real challenge to Nadal on clay in good part because his defense is so strong (and because he has won so often in 2011 and since in hard matches that he has – often at least – the confidence that comes from such results repeated often). It is Nadal’s elite level on clay that makes him defending RG and most clay trophies still the expected result when more or less in his better, match-hardened form. The European wing of the claycourt season should be interesting. I expect Rafa to be passionate about winning MC again, for one, and same for RG. Should Nole defeat Rafa at MC if they meet there – and I don’t think he will – it would be a huge boost to his claycourt challenge of Rafa so I expect to be gunning for it. Before then we might have a very interesting AO if Andy and the two of them all reach the semis.
I’ll never forgive Fedfans who attacks Rafa. Never!
^^^^Be fair Gussie, some Rafans are also capable of pretty vitriolic attacks on Federer and his supporters. And all fans are adept at snide comments about the prowess (or lack of prowess) of their fav’s main rivals. That’s blogging for you.
I am allergic to some aspects of Djokovic behaviour and am prone to voicing my feelings which may offend his fans/supporters but I don’t set out to insult him.
What I detest is when it degenerates into fan warfare and vicious personal attacks on people because of whom they support. This is what ruined Tennistalk in the latter stages and why I rarely visit other sites.
So far, with the odd minor transgression, Tenngrand is a haven of civilised and enjoyable discussions.
#LongMayItLast
ed, u sure about that? Always thought “holdserve” was female.
Not 100% sure but fairly sure. Mind you, S/T claimed to be male but I was never convinced of that either. Whatever, I got into a dialogue around the time of the USO 2010 over Djokovic and the Egg and he claimed special knowledge gleaned from family members who were in the medical profession. The antipathy dates back to when I took him to task for accusing Abhirf of lying about being a medical student and said he should retract the accusation and apologise – hence the jibe about Abhirf being my pet. It was also after that he mounted the smear campaign that I was a a closet Andy fan and therefore had to be a fake Rafan. Male or female, he/she has the typical convoluted mind of an internet flamer.
ed251137 @November 16, 2013 at 11:55 am
—some Rafans are also capable of pretty vitriolic attacks on Federer and his supporters.—
It’s the response to Fedfans’ attacks against Rafa.
Point taken!
holdserve has been on really good here on TT until this last attack on abhirf
Never found anything to object in what I wrote on TT until one day s/he wrote something short but quite…well, racist, I thought and I called him/her on it with all of one sentence. Then I was immediately accused of being racist myself and thrown forever into the camps of fake rafans never to be trusted.
Having said that, I have greatly appreciated how good holdserve has been here on tenngrand and what s/he writes is usually illuminating.
I too have the same notion that Holdserve is a female. I think she mentioned it in an argument on TT!
Though she does post some great posts sometimes.