The all-too-early but highly-anticipated Roland Garros quarterfinal between the two title favorites is upon us. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will collide on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be facing each other for the 44th time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the French Open on Wednesday.
Nadal is leading the head-to-head series 23-20, including 14-5 on clay. His clay-court dominance, however, once stood at a commanding 9-0 over Djokovic. They are an even 5-5 against one another on the slow stuff dating back to the start of the 2011 campaign. In even more convincing evidence of a turning tide, Djokovic has won five of their last six encounters overall. The Serb most recently cruised 6-3, 6-3 earlier this spring in the Monte-Carlo semis.
Interestingly, their first-ever showdown also came in the quarters at Roland Garros. Nadal was cruising 6-4, 6-4 in 2006 when Djokovic retired and allegedly claimed to be in control of the match when it came to a premature end.
Nadal is 6-0 lifetime against Djokovic at this event, including 17-4 in total sets. One of their most memorable collisions came in the 2013 semifinals, with the Spaniard escaping 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 en route to the eighth of his nine titles.
The full head-to-head history:
The two title favorites have cruised without much trouble into the last eight. Djokovic has improved to 39-2 on the year–including 26-0 in his last 26 matches–thanks to straight-set victories over Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Muller, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Richard Gasquet. He has not even been extended to a tiebreaker.
Whereas Djokovic was brimming with confidence even before his arrival in Paris, Nadal apparently needed what is maybe his favorite tournament to restore order to his otherwise disappointing 2015 campaign. Of course, that would only happen with a win over Djokovic followed by his 10th Coupe des Mousquetaires. But it has been so far so good for Nadal this fortnight. The world No. 7 has gotten the best of Quentin Halys, Nicolas Almagro, Andrey Kuznetsov, and Jack Sock, surrendering just one set to Sock in the process.
“It is not the final, you know,” assured Nadal, who will turn 29 on match day. “It’s a quarterfinal. And, no, the winner of that match will not (yet) be the Roland Garros champion. [He] will be a semifinalist. That makes a big difference. Even if it’s a special match, it’s a quarterfinal match.”
“Of course it is a different approach mentally when you play Nadal in quarterfinals than any other player,” Djokovic assessed. “There is no doubt about that. I’m going to try to keep my routine the same. I know what I need to do to have a chance to win. That doesn’t mean that I will win. The future is unpredictable.”
The top seed is correct, especially when something extreme has to give. Will it be Nadal’s 70-1 lifetime record and nine titles in 10 appearances at Roland Garros that suffer a blemish, or will Djokovic’s positively dominant 2015 campaign take a rare hit? In the end, current form should rule the day. Nadal, of course, will put up a commendable fight and show flashes of his French Open brilliance. But he may be underdone by a propensity to leave returns way too short and the occasional errant forehand that is becoming surprisingly common in his game.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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