There was little doubt when the French Open draw came out that a semifinal showdown between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal would come to fruition.
That is indeed the case, as the two all-time greats will square off for the 58th time in their careers on Friday evening.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series by an incredibly slim 29-28 margin. The fact that it could be all tied up after 58 meetings is fun to think about, but it is hardly the most relevant statistic. This is what matters: Nadal is 5-0 in their last five clay-court contests, while Djokovic is 10-0 in their last 10 matches on hard courts and grass. Nadal hasn’t won on anything other than clay since the 2013 U.S. Open final.
Good news for the Spaniard: we are once again only talking about clay.
In fact, it’s more like great news. Nadal’s perfect 5-0 mark on the slow stuff, which dates back to the start of 2017, also includes an 11-2 sets record at Djokovic’s expense. Their 2020 French Open matchup came in the final and the King of Clay dominated it 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. They most recently faced each other in last month’s Rome final, with Nadal recovering from a mid-match hiccup to triumph 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
None of those results bode well for Djokovic. Conditions at a most unusual 2020 Roland Garros event–held in October instead of June–were far worse for Nadal, and he still had no trouble giving the Serb a free clay-court lesson. It is also no secret that Nadal is much tougher to beat in Paris than in Rome. Take 2020, for example. He lost to Diego Schwartzman in the Rome quarterfinals only to dominate the French Open without dropping a single set in the process–including a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(0) semifinal beatdown of Schwartzman.
If Djokovic could not beat Nadal in Rome, what’s to say he can do it now?
His form, although decent, definitely doesn’t. The world No. 1 cruised through his first three matches of the fortnight in straight sets, but he lost a pair of tiebreakers to Lorenzo Musetti on Monday and then required three hours and 28 minutes to get past Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in the quarters.
Nadal, on the other hand, has been entirely dominant. The third seed crushed Alexei Popyrin, Richard Gasquet, Cameron Norrie, and Jannik Sinner in straight sets to reach the last eight. Schwartzman ended Nadal’s French Open set streak at 36 on Wednesday, but the 34-year-old responded to that test by winning 30 of the match’s last 35 points en route to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory.
With five more wins under his belt, Nadal is now 105-2 lifetime at Roland Garros. He is 13-0 in semifinal matches. Add finals to the mix and he is 26-0 in his career once he advances to this stage of the French Open.
There is no reason to think such perfection will end on Friday.
Pick: Nadal in 3
WWW?
I can’t see y Rafa won’t win either but I doubt it will be in three, lol!! But I do wish it would be
Bold call to say Novak won’t win a set. I think he wins at least one; Nadal in 4.
Ricky has a lot of money on Nadal to win the final (obviously) and takes offense to anyone suggesting things could be a bit more competitive than he’s predicting.
He clearly didn’t like the fact that I said both the favs will need to maintain their levels otherwise they could lose.
He’s shown a tendency to be aggressive and competitive which is very unfortunate.
Sorry, excessively-competitive. Anything in excess is never good.
Some people are so competitive it doesn’t matter what you do for them they’ll always resent you. These types of people you’re best off stay right away from. I’ve seen a lot in my life.
I’d be careful what you discuss in here also. The other sites are just copying everything that gets discussed in here.
@Anonymous/Roger you are absolutely correct.
I mostly agree, but I don’t think the Rome final is especially relevant. Djokovic played for nearly 5 hours the day before, and did well to make it relatively close.
I pick Rafa in 4, possibly 5.
Rafa in five , almost a repeat of the 2013 Semi with controversial moment(s)
No, please. That 2013 was a heart-breaker. Rather not remember it. I do not plan on watching the Rafole this year. I will watch and enjoy the other semi. And then the final when it is Rafa v ? That will be good.
Great tennis in Stuttgart! Humnbert for the title
Ugo
Finally, I might be able to pick Ugo and not lose a point! Good on grass 🤞🏻.
It’s too hard for me to pick # of sets for the Rafole. I’m not sure about Nole. We have not seen much of his God mode. If he has some, now is the time to bring it. Ricky could be right, Rafa in 3.
I believe Novak will play better this time around. I think Rafa is more confident now when facing Nole but I also believe Novak will not want to go down with another bagel. I think he was quite surprised by Rafa’s level of play last year and had do plan B nor answers. But this tie I think he’ll be more prepared, and that makes me a bit nervous. But anyway, VAMOS Rafa!!
Insyaallah Rafa in 3 or 4…Many peoples doubting Rafa this year bcoz of the vulnerabilities they saw in his game…In all in his previous matches,he had a blip,lost of focus in the middle of the game(i think it’s normal when u 35 yo,u succumbed to nature a little bit)
But i think those peoples who doubting him forgot that RG is a very very special place for Rafa…Everytime he step on court,he will become extra motivated,have extra wanting to win another & another & another…Today is gonna be the same…I really believe Rafa will find another gear at important moments like he always did…Just hope he can finish it in straights so he can save some energy for those brats😁
#21ispossible!!…C’mon Rafa!!…Woohoo!!
Nadal in 4 (maybe 5)
The underdogs can win. It’s not out of the question.
Both these matches look like 5 setters to me.
If it does go to 5 wouldn’t that favour the Serb?
I’m not sure a 5 setter favors him because he’s Serbian.
Keep your mind sharp and focused, remain confident, be strong and show your warrior spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3mRwFRWQAAy2QK?format=jpg
Nadal in FIVE.
It makes me feel good most believe Rafa wail win but it’s what happens in the courts that matters, and in the day! I am already super nervous, can only imagine how the players themselves feel. Nevertheless, VAMOS Rafa!!
Mona,
I agree. Predictions are fun and nice to read, but Rafa has said in the past that it’s what happens on the court that matters. I am getting very nervous. I checked the listings and saw that the second semifinal will be broadcasted by NBC. That us not good news because the commercial networks don’t stay with the matches. If this goes long I don’t know if they will cut away for regular programming.
Nny ..cmon give us hope…if u nervous ,I feel u getting bad sensations (:-
I am currently watching it on live stream. It’s a good one just about a game delay from the live scores, lol. It’s a site called steam2watch.
On to other news, seems Zverev will go home in str8ts. Really thought match would at least go to 4.
Haha!
Very apposite tweet from Ricky:
“What was the point of even having the bottom half of this draw?
Just use the top half as the entire tournament and call the next match the final.”
Absolutely!
Sorry wrong thread!
Amy .I’m telling u again .everyone is underestimating tsitsipas. I think his time is due. He is not going to roll over in the final
That match too is so boring making me sleepy, sigh!
Calm down sanju!
Please!😀
Ricky’s tweet is 100% accurate.
Am going to go and do the washing up as this match is less than compelling..
N tsitsi gets broken start of third..cmon tsitsi finish this in straights
Agreed! Even with Zverev getting the break, I’ll go shave my legs 🤣🤣🤣🤣 bcos I won’t be able to focus on anything else when Rafa steps on court. I will e a hot mess!!