The finals of the the Rome Masters series is here and we have the same finalist as we did last year.
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
v
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
The battle of the top 2 seeds. Novak played very aggressive against Fed yesterday. He is looking better as the tournament has progressed. I'm not sure if Fed tried his 100%, but leaving that aside, for Djo part, he played well and won it in straight sets.
Nadal had an easy passage against Ferrer. Half of the match was won in the locker room itself, only a bit formalities were left to be done of court. Still Nadal is playing decent enough, he played good against Berdych. But he also gave a lot of opportunities. Ferrer didn't took those, but Djo is no Ferrer
Their last meeting was in MC final and its was a complete let down. Djo didn't wake up enough, couldn't hold serve even once in the 2nd set. Nadal played patchy but on that day it was enough.
I'm expecting a long match, long ..whatever be the score card. Time rule violation on almost every point.
Who will win today? We shall see. I've already given my preference yesterday.
ATP Matches Of The Day: Rome 2012, Final
posted on 21/5/12
It's strange, i did expect this turnaround but still it's weird to see that Nole has been losing his belief so easily against Nadal. He completely owned him not long ago.
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I did not expect that turn around to be honest...and I don't think it's one yet. I am just surprised to see Djoko either feeling the pressure or not wanting to fight as much as last year.
Maybe this AO match he won took its toll physically and more so mentally and he doesn;t want to relive a similar experience.
posted on 21/5/12
I feel Djoko is going to feel the pressure every round of RG.
posted on 22/5/12
Djoko sums it up pretty well:
"I think that the match today was quite close, even if he won in straight sets. If you don’t use the opportunities against Rafa he gets momentum. I made a lot of errors which should not happen when you play against Nadal. I will go to Paris with confidence and I played a great week."
posted on 22/5/12
One thing is very sure about Nole: he is one very smart cookie.
If you've lived through a war, there's not a lot that can phase you in life.
posted on 22/5/12
Now that Rome is over, and the excitment leadint to RG is beginning to take over y sanity , just a big thanks to Rotla for running Match of the day thread.
posted on 22/5/12
here here nole. He runs an excellent tennis thread for these competitions. Well done to him and all the posters who have taken part
posted on 23/5/12
Did not get to see the match but was quite surprised by the result. I really expected that Nole would win. Watching their matches last year really made me feel that Nole just had a plan that would work all the time and there was not much Rafa could do about it.
Nothing that I have seen from Rafa prior to Rome indicated to me that he would find a solution.
Nole certainly did not look as sharp as in 2011 but I felt that when it came to the matches he really cared about he would find a way.
Will likely try to watch at least some of the match later this week to understand what happened. Was it just Nole who was at a lower level than last year or did Rafa do something better than in 2011?
posted on 23/5/12
I feel Djoko is going to feel the pressure every round of RG.
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Agree, it is going to be difficult for him. If his lacklustre form is for real rather than just due to indifference at small tournaments he could end up going early.
posted on 23/5/12
Will likely try to watch at least some of the match later this week to understand what happened. Was it just Nole who was at a lower level than last year or did Rafa do something better than in 2011?
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If you watch bits of the final try to pick up at 4all in the first and the last games of the 2nd set.
You will see essentially Djoko lacking the composure and fitness of 2011. Those 2 are linked un fact.
posted on 23/5/12
"Was it just Nole who was at a lower level than last year or did Rafa do something better than in 2011?"
I think Nadal served a little better.
Nole's backhand broke down in the 2nd set. Don't know why.
My strong personal view is that Nole expected to win this match and when he was robbed of the set point (which would have definitely meant the match for him as well) it threw him momentarily and carried over into the beginning of 2nd set.
The early break in the 2nd shook his confidence and that's why I think the backhand started misfiring, his timing was also a bit strange on some of those, and his footwork was slower compared to his usual self.
All in all, if he can take naything form this match is to keep his temper in check a bit better next time.
Having said all this, the news have leaked that Serbian Open is before closing and is in the process of being sold, possibly to Nadal's Balearic Islands.
His uncle who is a tournament director has resigned.
Couple that with the contract breaking with ST and you can glean a bit into why Nole was a bit off his normal sharp focused self.
I must say I was surprised with him losing his rag AND that affecting his play, that is not Nole: he dpes vent his stuf out but that has never affected his play.
To me, despite the match being longish, it went quick and that's how it must have felt to Nole as he was runing out of time in that match fast.
He certainly played well below his level in the second set, yet the score looks close.
I am convinced the loss is nothing to worry about.