World No. 1 Novak Djokovic looks for his second consecutive clay court final as he takes on Argentine Diego Schwartzman at the Rome Masters.
Novak Djokovic may have just one French Open title to his name, but that is due almost exclusively to Rafael Nadal’s unprecedented dominance at the tournament. Make no mistake-Novak Djokovic is an excellent clay courter. In fact, since 2006, he’s only had a handful of seasons in which he won nothing on the dirt – most notably a miserable dry spell in 2017 and 2018, in which his ranking dropped to No. 22 in the world and he appeared (briefly) to be past his prime.
Of course, his three Grand Slam titles since last June have quite effectively silenced the critics. He had a particularly impressive showing in Melbourne this year, where he completely dominated Rafael Nadal in the final. He had a series of somewhat uncharacteristic losses during the spring hardcourt swing, but he righted the ship in Madrid last week, snagging the title from a red-hot Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Diego Schwartzman, the Argentine ranked 24 in the world has had a few good results this year, particularly at home in Buenos Aires, where he reached the final. But his European clay swing has been anything but impressive. He has only won a single main draw match in each of his French Open warm-up events. Schwartzman turned it around in Rome, however. The Argentine took out Kei Nishikori in the quarters to earn his spot opposite Djokovic in the semis.
Djokovic wasn’t quite as impressive against Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters as he was in Madrid last week, but the Serb was still hitting well off the baseline (even if he donated more than a few errant dropshots to the DelPo cause). Del Potro was somewhat hobbled by a battered and bloody toe, but Djokovic stayed the course, after facing a couple of match points in the second set.
The Serb enjoys a 2-0 head-to-head against Schwartzman, though it should be noted that their last match was a strange 5-setter at Roland Garros back in 2017. Unfortunately for the Argentine, this is a different Djokovic than the one he faced in their last encounter. This should be a fairly routine win for the world No. 1.
Cheryl pick – Djokovic in 2
Okay, I’m going to lunch. I’ll only watch tomorrow if it’s Rafa vs Diego, that’s it. I’m fried.
Schwarzman playing with all out aggression now, taking it to Djoko, good to see.
The good news, I didn’t think Novak would win Rome this year. I did pick Rafa.
I can’t even keep the sound on because the Tennis Channel commentators are so bias against Novak. American commentators are terrible when it comes to respect for Novak. Also I think the crowd was bugging me because they were cheering for Diego.
That’s the breaks. Nole would do well to retire now and let Diego, the favorite underdog get the win of his life. No, that is not right or fair – just play your best and take it on the chin tomorrow, if you must. But Nole is not going to beat Rafa at this rate – gosh he played a terrible tie break his serve is off and he needs to be more sharp. Rafa has only dropped how many games? Rafa playing extremely well. And Rafa has got loads of energy and doesn’t have any problem with the surface or conditions here. Ah…exactly why I picked Rafa over Novak in the first place. He’s KOC! And he rocks
But it’s just…
I’d really love Diego to get the chance of his life to play Rafa in the Rome final.
Okay. In the end the Italian crowd was cheering for Nole ole ole 😀 I forgive them for wanting more tennis. 😀 They are good tennis fans.
Im not overly confident about Rafa beating Novak i never am anymore, theres something about playing Novak that gets inside Rafas head urgh ….
I think, though my eyes were closed from the end of the 2nd set TB on, that it was actually a good match from a tennis perspective. And so was Delpo vs Nole.
Congrats Nole!
Well done, Diego. Well done Delpo. Good luck to both at FO. I love those Argies.
nd Rafa is still the odds on favorite, Rafa Fans! Not by much. I just hope Rafa gets it in 2. But Novak will try to win and won’t care about a slippery court when he sees who is across the net. WE are lucky to get another Rafole. I keep reminding myself, Alison!
Elizabeth I do follow WTA and will join the bracket. Looking forward to tomorrow. Rafa def the favorite on slow clay but Nole is Nole. He has the mental edge against Rafa and can win tomorrow. May the best man win!
Ah, the joy, AVN 😀 I have to go see.
Am living on European time, which means waking up close to 3 am. Normally I don’t post this time of (night).
Djokovic was there to be beaten. Schwartman just wasnt professional enough. He needs to hold himself to a higher standard. Congrats on a great tournament however.
Diego did a damn good job. He had me crying for mercy and my tuna salad lunch sandwich tasted like cardboard.
Will somebody explain to me why we need to be constantly reminded by sycophantic commentators that Djokovic is No. 1 in the world? I don’t recall either TMF or Rafa being referred to like this. in the past. And it’s time they learnt the noun for people from Argentine is Argentinian NOT Argentines!
#end of gripe
Ed,
You must have slightly different commentators than I do. I mean, calling Nole #1 is something my commies do from time to time, but it’s just to sound less bias, in case there are some Nole fans paying big money to watch tennis. They were decidedly for the Argies the past two days. And today they won’t stop with the Rafa love. But I can’t blame them there.
Although Djokovic knows how to win matches even when he is not at his best (the hallmark of all the top players)
his performance has been decidedly patchy for some time.now. My money is on Rafa for the final
The commentators also indulge in the annoying habit of talking to each other throughout the matches – posing spurious questions to each other,.
#another gripe
Can’t take the chit chat. I must mute or I start cursing at the TV.
Jason Goodall and Robbie Koenig are the best combination, they just seem to click and forget they are even commentating. I’ve watched some epic finals between Nadal and Djokovic with those two commentating.