The top two players in the world will collide on one of the biggest stages in tennis when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal take the court for the U.S. Open final on Monday. One man will capture his second Grand Slam title of the season.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be squaring off for the 37th time in their careers and for the fourth time this season when they battle for the U.S. Open on title on Monday.
Nadal has won two of three encounters in 2013, including two in a row to extend his head-to-head series lead to 21-15. Djokovic prevailed in straight sets in the Monte-Carlo final, but Nadal won 9-7 in the fifth set at Roland Garros and in a third-set tiebreaker at the Montreal Masters. The Spaniard is 7-11 against Djokovic on hard courts, 7-3 in Grand Slams, and 2-3 in slam finals.
Djokovic did well to hold off the competition and book a spot in his fifth career U.S. Open title match. After easing past Ricardas Berankis, Benjamin Becker, Joao Sousa, and Marcel Granollers in straight sets, the top-ranked Serb beat Mikhail Youzhny in four and staged a comeback to get past Stanislas Wawrinka in five on Saturday. Djokovic is 50-8 for the season, which already includes one major title in Melbourne.
Nadal has been the dominant hard-court player of the year, and nothing has changed this fortnight in New York. The world No. 2 has dropped a mere one set in victories over Ryan Harrison, Rogerio Dutra Silva, Ivan Dodig, Philipp Kohlschreiber (the lone four-setter), Tommy Robredo, and Richard Gasquet. Coming off back-to-back Masters titles in Montreal and Cincinnati to go along with a triumph in Indian Wells, Nadal boasts an amazing 59-3 record for the season.
“It is good if both of us are playing at a very high level, so the match becomes great because we play long rallies, we bring our game, and it becomes a very difficult match for both of us,” Nadal commented. “I hope to be ready for that. I’m going to try. I need to keep playing very aggressive.”
“He’s the ultimate competitor out there,” Djokovic said of his opponent. “He’s fighting for every ball and he’s playing probably the best tennis that he ever played on hard courts. With no doubt he’s the best player in the moment this year. The way he’s been playing, he’s very confident. But I know how to play him.”
Nadal may have a slight edge in current form, but Djokovic has plenty of reasons to take heart–one being his past history against Nadal both on hard courts and in slam finals. Just as it is almost impossible to win three sets in a span of five against Nadal on clay, it is extremely difficult to do the same against Djokovic on hards. Although the 2011 U.S. Open champion will have his hands full in this one, he seems to play even better when his back is against the wall. At the 2012 Australian Open, Djokovic played a longer semifinal against Andy Murray than he did against Wawrinka and he recovered two days later to topple Nadal in a grueling final that cannot be less taxing than whatever transpires on Monday.
It is not smart to bet against either one of these players right now. The only safe assumption is that this will be one of the best matches of the year in terms of both quality and intensity.
Pick: Djokovic in 5
[polldaddy poll=7380172]
Knew it you will go safe and pick Djoko .
NID
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides and commented:
What he said
There is no safe in this matchup.
it is the true, no?
Ricky, I’ll take comfort in that you haven’t been as accurate in predicting this US Open as you did before in other GSs. 🙂
I regret checking out the tennis warehouse site. In the men’s final poll thread, someone said Rafa wasn’t nearly as aggressive as he did in Montreal. The poster blamed Uncle Toni for that. Could someone watch Montreal opine on Rafa’s plays there vs. now? Thanks.
I watched their SF match in Montreal today and it’s true that Rafa didn’t play aggressive there. I also made that point on TW.
Sorry, but I don’t feel all that comfortable on tennis warehouse. I do post there at times, but don’t like getting into the same old arguments about the same old nonsense. No one ever wins these arguments.
I think Rafa played somewhat less aggressive at Cincy than at Montreal because he said the surface was different and the conditions were different. He was playing very aggressive tennis at Montreal, standing right on the baseline to blast ROS winners. But he has to adjust to different weather and surfaces. That’s what he said when he explained how he was playing at Cincy. He did tend to stand further behind the baseline there because that is what was required for him to get a good ROS. He has changed his stance at the USO. In some matches he has stood a little bit back but then jumped up a step or two to hit the ROS at the baseline.
I think Rafa has still been aggressive at the USO. He is moving into the court to close out points at net, getting good court positioning. He has been very good at using the court and hitting his shots from the baseline or inside the baseline.
Blaming Uncle Toni is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The people over there aren’t experts. They are just people with opinions. It’s not about Uncle Toni. It’s about different conditions at the USO. This isn’t Montreal or Cincy.
I think he had a lot of trouble with the wind during his match with Gasquet. I think that accounts for how he played.
Thank @nny, I mean, what does Uncle Toni do? Tell Rafa to play less aggressively and as further away from the baseline as possible? This is one of the hazards of the internet I am afraid, no censorship on rubbish.
NNY, thanks for the explanation. I just heard Brad Gilbert on ESPN site. He said it’s very windy today during women’s final. And if it’s as windy tomorrow, Rafa would have an edge because he’s the best windy player. He picked Rafa in 4 yesterday. He hasn’t missed in any predictions so far in this U.S. Open.
“he hasn’t missed in any predictions so far in this U.S. Open.”
hahahaha
That’s what the other ESPN reporter said. 😛
You just stick with your pre-tournament pick, Ricky.
Brad is usually right as far as end result goes ..more often than not..though he gets score wrong a lot..He picked Serena in traights like 6-2, 6-3 types
Ricky will always pick Djokovic on anything non clay, he has been doing so all year..doesn’t matter he was wrong like 6-7 times already.
Finally Rafa or Novak will be decided on court
Stay aggressive Rafa, DTL FH n BH and on the baseline/closer to it please.
I don’t care whether Brad is accurate on scores as long as the end result is accurate. 😀 I need every positive signs to sooth my nerve.
BDW who plays well in windy conditions?? rafa or novak? ricky? 🙂
If it is windy, it should be advantage Rafa, but Djokovic has proved he can master Rafa under any conditions, so let us just say the better player will handle the conditions better!
Rafa is better in windy conditions
Rafa by a mile
I find it interesting that people quote Djokovic’s superior HC H2H against Rafa as evidence of his superiority over Rafa on HC but are quick to discount Rafa’s wins over Djokovic pre 2011 in a discussion of the pair’s overall H2H. Doesn’t their HC H2H record include wins by Djokovic pre 2013
The reason people airbrush Djokovic’s pre 2011 play in a discussion of the overall H2H is because Djokovic was still evolving they say, post 2011 Djokovic is a better indicator. Well, so has Rafa, as far as HC are concerned. Rafa has improved his HC game, from 2013 I would say. So, to judge Rafa’s HC nouse on his pre-2013 record is to airbrush his current record on the stuff.
This is not to say Djokovic’s play has deteriorated on HC, just that Rafa’s has improved, much like Djokovic’s overall play improved in 2011.
I believe Rafa is as good as, if not marginally better than, Djokovic on HC these days, This is why I feel this final could go either way.
Reblogged this on Chaos Equals Cosmos and commented:
Great preview Ricky. I think there is a safe-pick here and that is Rafa. I am not one to play safe – I play aggressive tennis like Sampras/Navratilova/Federer and I will take the more aggresive of the 2 and the better hardcourt player of the 2players = Djokovic
Has anybody noticed any adjustments/improvements in Djokovic’s play and tactics as a result of the ‘special adviser’ who joined his team for the USO?
Maybe he’s keeping them under wraps until today!
ed251137, I read that Djokovic hired the new coaching consultant as a foil to Lendl. So clearly, the focus was on Muzza as far as the hire was concerned. Not sure how much help this does to Novak’s prospects vs Rafa…………….maybe Novak doesn’t think Rafa is worth hiring a special coach for! After all, he knows how to play against him he says……………
ed,
In the early rounds when Djoker wasn’t being challenged, I thought he did serve much better. He wasn’t double faulting as much and was hitting more aces. However, in his quarterfinal match with Youzhny, once again he went walkabout in that third set. He just went off. I think he even double faulted one break of serve away. They were going back and forth breaking each other’s serves. He really let Youzhny steal a set off him. So there was the same old problem.
Then in the semifinal with Stan, he came out flat in the first set and had to fight just to win that second set tiebreak to stay in the match. The other stat that stood out, which has been brought up here in discussion, is all those break chances that Djoker could not convert against Stan. Something like 3 out of 16 chances? That is unthinkable for a guy with maybe the best ROS in the game. There were signs of that mental fragility in the semifinal. Djoker lost his cool when someone in the crowd shouted during a point. Then he screamed, it sounded like he was cursing at himself in Serbian, when he missed a shot.
I thought that the coach was supposed to help his overall game, not just be a counter to Murray having Lendl as a coach. I guess we will know in the final. Because that’s when it will really count.
Sanju is right Rafa is better at handling windy conditions and they will be tricky again today. It’s going to be very gusty and changing direction during the course of the match. Painting the lines will be a dangerous tactic!
IMO a lot of the time what have been counted as unforced errors have been due to the way the wind has been swirling from every direction when it gets trapped inside the Arthur Ashe court. I’ve noticed how often Rafa has missed with his trademark ‘banana’ shot in several of his matches.
http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2013/09/02/djokovic-hires-a-secret-weapon/
“If Ivan Lendl is Andy Murray’s secret weapon—the former No. 1 player turned the Scot into a Grand Slam champion—what better way to counteract that winning combination than to cozy up to Lendl’s own former coach? Novak Djokovic has done just that.
And most important of all Fibak has an intimate connection to Lendl, which could perhaps give Djokovic a window into the inner workings of the Lendl/Murray relationship. “With Ivan advising Murray I would know what he was doing and telling him,” said Fibak. “Maybe I’m like a counterpunch–I’m someone who knows Ivan well.”
I am nervous! 😀 i wish i had some of you by my side 😀
just hope rafa plays great and result will come…
Rafaelo: Ask Deucy nicely and she might let you go behind her famous sofa 🙂
Deucy: btw: am I imagining it, or did you say you want Djokovic to win today?
You can go off people you know 😉
In total agreement NNY. Djokovic is handling the pressure less and less well these days. A crisis in confidence is bad news for any player but when you are the No.1 it is liable to escalate
@ed
No, said wanted Nole to win semis, as Rafa would’ve trampled all over poor Stan. Unlikely to do that to Nole.
Good luck Nole! Good Luck Rafa! May the best man win 🙂 Lovely view from the fence btw;)
Have single handedly ( and where IS Alex, I’d like to know) lugged sofa over from tt and you are all welcome to use it…;)
Looked at talktennis and wharehouse. Not for me. Providing the trolls are kept away this suits me fine, with occasional forays to tx. There’s a brilliant Andy fan there and as you know, not many of us about…:(
Too much of reading into Nole’s SF win. Guess what, he won the match without even playing at half his best. He won it just based on his determination and grit. Plus, Wawa was playing probably the best tennis in tournament apart from Rafa n Nole. He was able to capitalise on Nole’s off day.
Rafa has done the same for years, just winning it on his grit and fighting ability even when he clearly wasnt the better player in the match. I think Rafa fans should know much more about what such gritty wins can transform into. These wins can skyrocket ones confidence. Still, I dont know how it’s going to affect Djoker.
I’ll still go with Rafa in 5!
Personally, I am totally discounting Nole’s semi permance. He has a lot riding on this final so I think he will bring it, just as all the players do when they see Rafa across the net.
I hope your prediction is wrong, @abhirf, in number of sets I mean. Rafa needs to end this quickly. The longer he let’s Nole hang around, the more belief he infuses into Novak.
^^Nole’s semi performance.
well it can end quickly if its windy. Other than that I’m inclined for a 5 set win for Rafa coz as you said these 2 are marginally close. And anything that marginal has got to go the distance.
I really, really hope Fed finds a solution to his current slump. The tour needs a strong top 4. There is a real imbalance right now with just a strong top 3.