The Rome title will come down to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on Sunday. Djokovic has triumphed three times at this event, while Federer is still in search of his first Rome winner’s trophy.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be squaring off for the 39th time in their careers when they battle for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title on Sunday afternoon.
Federer is leading the head-to-head series 20-18, including 4-3 on clay. The top two players in the world most recently faced each other on the slow stuff last year in Monte-Carlo, where Federer prevailed 7-5, 6-2. They have already met twice this season, splitting a pair of final showdowns. After Federer got the job done 6-3, 7-5 in Dubai, Djokovic pulled out a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory in Indian Wells.
Federer has been the undisputed best and most consistent player throughout the week. The second-ranked Swiss has advanced with straight-set wins over Pablo Cuevas, Kevin Anderson, Tomas Berdych, and Stan Wawrinka (Wawrinka had upset Rafael Nadal in the quarters). He is 25-4 on the year with titles in Brisbane, Dubai, and earlier during this clay-court swing in Istanbul.
“I feel like I have a chance to play well for sure,” Federer commented. “Novak is not Rafa on clay, so it’s a different situation. I’ve done fairly well in the past against him. We played here twice before and I lost both times, so it’s up to me to put in a good performance.”
Federer is correct about Djokovic not being Rafa; Djokovic is far better than Rafa right now. Although he endured a tougher trek to the final than Federer, Djokovic raised his level when it mattered most on every occasion. The top-seeded Serb beat Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3, Thomaz Bellucci 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, and Kei Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 before finally taking care of business in straight sets against David Ferrer on Saturday.
None of Federer’s previous opponents play defense at anywhere near the level of Djokovic, who has lost to the 33-year-old on anything other than a fast hard court only once in the last three years. The No. 1 seed should always have the edge on this surface against Federer thanks to his ability to extend points ultimately break down his opponent from the back of the court.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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