A blockbuster showdown between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is on the cards for Saturday in Monte-Carlo. A much more surprising semifinal pits Tomas Berdych against Gael Monfils.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Djokovic and Nadal will be squaring off for the 43rd time in their careers when they collide all too early in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 23-19 in favor of Nadal, who is a dominant 14-4 against Djokovic on clay. They have not faced each other since the 2014 French Open final, won by the Spaniard 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic, however, is a much more respectable 4-5 in their last nine clay-court meetings and one of those five losses came in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 thriller in the 2013 Roland Garros semis. Overall, the Serb has won four of their last five encounters.
Comfortably ranked No. 1 in the world, Djokovic has been beating up not just on Nadal in recent times. Everyone his been at his mercy, including 15 consecutive opponents and 28 of 30 during this 2015 campaign. So far in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic has rolled over Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Andreas Haider-Maurer, and Marin Cilic. Nadal cruised past Lucas Pouille before needing three-setters against both John Isner and David Ferrer. Friday’s all-Spanish quarterfinal battle lasted two hours and 44 minutes, longer than the other three quarterfinal matches combined. The word No. 5 is going to be counted out as a result of his modest current form and tough tests the past few days, but he will raise his level when required. Nadal’s eight Monte-Carlo titles and 14-4 clay-court record against Djokovic will give the underdog–yes, the underdog–confidence he has not enjoyed since last year’s French Open.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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(6) Tomas Berdych vs. (14) Gael Monfils
Monfils was not even initially entered in Monte-Carlo, but he asked for a late wild card and the decision to play has paid off in a big way. After scraping past Andrey Kuznetsov in three sets, the 18th-ranked Frenchman beat an in-form Alexandr Dolgopolov, upset Roger Federer in straights, then hammered Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-3 on Friday.
Berdych has not dropped a single set while taking out Sergiy Stakhovsky, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Milos Raonic. The sixth-seeded Czech’s road to the last four was made even more routine by Raonic’s retirement at 5-2 in the opening set of their quarterfinal clash. Berdych is leading head-to-head series with Monfils 5-1, including 2-0 already this season. But the world No. 8 benefited from an indoor hard court in Rotterdam and Monfils had to retire in Miami after falling on his hip. Monfils is looking like a different player now, especially on clay. He has been moving his opponents all over everywhere and he will do the same to Berdych, whose mediocre movement is at its worst on the slow stuff.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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#sorri
you should! 🙂
Hmmm…you have been pretty good in predicting so far…why not get it right again…anything is possible…in any case we should not put a blame on you…☺
This post is meant for Ricky the Magician… 🙂
I mean you should be! 🙂
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Rickster, retract that Rafa vs Novak prediction tout de suite! A tard quick to jump off the Novak bandwagon onto Rafa’s, no?
Agree with ritb, Ricky is a quick tard lol.
On the positive (and grander scheme), Rafa this week has played much better overall than how he played in most of the lead up events to RG last year which bodes well for No. 10.
However, in the shorter term (read tomorrow)…
Nadal hit way too many short balls today for much of the match and stayed too far back receiving serve against that little beast servebot. His nerves returned in the second set surrendering the double break failing to serve out the match in two.
Nole, however, is on course to set the (gluten-free) bagel record this year. In addition, Nole is 4-2 since 2011 against Rafa (when he was in better form than he is currently) in best of three on clay.
This match will be won between the ears.
Therefore, although Rafa will have chances for the victory, Novak in two over Rafa in the “final” is the pick (as Rafa alluded to in his post match interview today).
Important thing (as he also said) is that he is there.
Miew!
In this world of climate change, it is important to recycle, for sure, no?
Hehehe! Global warming? I am a believer!
Recycle on!
Novak does not need to mention this in interviews but he must understand fifty times better than we what an improving Rafa means for a potential O.K. Corral at RG. Rafa’s only job is to add to those doubts during at least parts of tomorrow’s match, no matter the score.
I didn’t Rafa played that well against Ferrer. He was cruising– until he wasn’t. Whereas, Nole has been pretty dominant. That said, I agree with Ricky’s pick: Rafa in three.
LOL…
That’s some pick from Ricky! I must confess to being surprised. I think that Novak is the favorite for this one. But as is the case many times, it’s on Rafa’s racket. My concern is those second set blues. Rafa cannot afford to give back even one break, much less two. Not against Novak.
Novak is supremely confident right now, having won the AO and now IW and Miami again. He’s got the belief. The question is, how much confidence and belief has Rafa gained from his last two victories? Will it be enough? It is between the ears and that’s why Rafa is usually the best bet. But he’s still shown a tendency to go walkabout and also play a bit too passively.
Nothing is absolute. Nothing is guaranteed. Rafa has a chance to win if he can keep it together and just believe. No matter what, this has been a great week for him. Whatever the outcome of this match, I do not think it means anything in relation to RG. That is where Rafa is at his most formidable, even when he has not dominated in the warmup tournaments.
absolutely! This has been a very positive tournament so far. I agree the second set blues is the only major concern but rafa will overcome this issue as well . he just needs some time perhaps. I think rafa is moving well, feeling the ball well and controlling his nerves much better now. The recovery against ferrer will hopefully boost his confidence.
I think rafa will go into the match without the burden of expectations and that might allow him to play will additional ‘colm’, no? You never know.
Novak looks to be the favorite but rafa is in with a good shot. He is improving every day and we know where all this is heading 😉 . HInt: 10th crown
If I have t g by the way Rafa is currently playing so so passively he has n chance against Nole. Rafa seems to lose focus esp when he is ahead,. Rafa has absolutely no confidence nhus game and the aggession is lacking, if he wins tomorrow I will be shocked but of course, happy!
By the way a Monfils vs Rafa would be great, no?
“I hope to be recovered physically because obviously I am not used to play at that level of tennis and that intensity for three hours in a tough match, battle, on clay.
“I don’t know how I will be physically tomorrow. I hope to be ready.
“I have nothing to lose tomorrow, it’s a good tournament already for me. I did what I wanted to do here. I am sure that will help me for Barcelona, for Madrid, for the next few weeks.”
I hope he is physically ready. It was a long , grueling battle against Ferrer. Rafa is not at this physical peak right now as he is still adapting . But I think he will be ready.
When I watched the entire third set on the tennis channel replay, I was struck by how physical and demanding it was for both players. Rafa’s words kind of concern me a bit. He may not have enough left after this battle to take on Novak. We know that it’s tough to take down Novak at any time. That’s one reason why I hoped that Rafa would finish it in two sets, even though I predicted the win in three sets. Rafa does pay a price for not being able to close out matches these days. If Rafa was at his peak, then he would have no trouble coming back after the grueling battle. But after reading his own words, now I am not so sure.
I am glad that Rafa is going into the final feeling that he has nothing to lose. He has done what he had to do and can move forward with some good feelings. There is more clay tennis to be played.
Big Berd has dominated Monfils in all of their matchups, except for the 5 setter at Roland Garros in 13′ where Monfils had 15 more total points than Berdych.
Berdych absolutely dominated Monfils on clay in Madrid in 2012 winning 52 of 71 total points. Both players are experienced and talented hard court players, having nearly the same winning percentage on both clay and hard courts, yet Berdych ran through Monfils twice already this year on hard. You could use the injury retirement as an excuse for his performance at the Miami masters, but Monfils was already down a set (6-3) when he fell and injured himself. It was clear Berdych was well in control of the match, having been up 15 total points at the time of the retirement.
I love how well Monfils has been playing so far at Monte Carlo, especially how he was able to follow up on his upset of Federer with another great showing in his match up with Dimitrov, but I just don’t see him being able to get over the proverbial hump against Berdych. Berdych has played everyone aside from the top 10 fantastically: 1-6 versus the top 10 not including the Raonic retirement. He is 22-0 against players not ranked in the top 10. Make of that what you will, but it is a testament to Tomas’ elite consistency. He rarely disappoints in matches you would expect him to compete in, he is playing in his ‘home tournament’ as he resides in Monte Carlo, and he will be well rested following the short match with Milos.
Berdych in 3 sets is my pick
No one in their right mind would say nadal will win against Novak tmrw. Are u not seeing his current form and play? Novak is beasting in Monte Carlo. Die hard nadal fans I’m sorry but his out tmrw
I don’t see why anyone would make a comment to the effect that no one in their right mind would Rafa will win against Novak in the final. No one here is God. I think Ricky is in his right mind.
Novak is the favorite. Rafa may not be ready to meet him at this point in time. He had a physical match against Ferrer and his own comments indicate that he is not sure if he can recover fully in time for the final.
Novak is not beasting. Have you seen his draw and who he is playing? Give me a break! He could have just sleepwalked to the semis! So let’s keep it real!
Novak in 2
Doubt Rafa will have much left to take on Novak leave alone beat him
That said its a good week for Rafa beating in form Isner and ferrer
Any news in morning from twitter on Rafa’s physical health?
Let’s not forget that Rafa was in similar beast mode in 2009 for first 5 months
He won AO , Indian wells , Montecarlo , Barcelona , Rome before RG
We then know what happened
It’s 2015 man. A lots happened hahaa
Yes that was not for Rafa. Don’t understand your haha, at least understand the point made.
Rafa was dominating 2009 first 4 -5 months just like Novak is now and then he got injured.
Anything can happen in tennis n its unpredictable.
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I’ll do the hawkeye: please do not feed the trolls…
Rafa has started off well with the early break. He had another chance to get the double break, but Novak held.
Unfortunately, we have to suffer with Mary Carillo and Justin Gimelstob doing the commentary. So Mary Carillo is going on about how Rafa does not use the tournament towels because they don’t absorb all his sweat. He has the white towels. Really? This is what passes for tennis commentary these days? Unbelievable.
I don’t believe it myself!!! I mean its great tennis, isn’t that enough? Who cares about towels?!
my tv not showing it live and today not even a single live streaming link working 🙁 🙁 Incredible!!
How is rafa playing?? Novak has broken back