Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic - All the numbers behind historic clash
Ever since their first match at Roland Garros in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have drawn the best from each other, fighting all over the world for almost every big title in tennis and forging one of the biggest rivalries in the history of the game. Like many times before, Rafa and Novak have shown the most in the past two weeks at the Australian Open, ousting 12 rivals to set another exciting Grand Slam final, with the ultimate glory waiting for the winner of Sunday's night clash at Melbourne Park. Nadal is through to his 25th Grand Slam final and he did that without dropping a set for the seventh time in his career, never losing a final after a perfect 18-0 score in the previous rounds.
Djokovic is right behind him, entering his seventh Australian Open final (he won all previous six) and the 24th overall, seeking the 15th Grand Slam crown to move in front of Pete Sampras while Nadal wants to lift the 18th Major trophy and move closer to Roger Federer who is the all-time leader with 20. Also, the Spaniard is looking to become only the third player in history with multiple titles at all four Majors, achieved only by Roy Emerson and Rod Laver in the past. Nadal and Djokovic have been the dominant figures on the biggest tennis stage in the last nine years, winning 25 out of previous 36 Majors (including 2019 Australian Open) and extending the domination of the 30&over players who have now won ten straight Majors, starting from Stan Wawrinka at the US Open in 2016!
With the title, Nadal would become only the fourth player with four Grand Slam titles after turning 30, joining Federer, Laver and Rosewall, while Djokovic plays for the third straight Grand Slam crown after he turned 30 last May. This will be the 53rd meeting between Rafa and Novak (the Serb leads 27-25), the most in the Open era, and also the 15th Grand Slam duel (9-6 for Novak), catching Djokovic and Federer who have also played 15 matches on the most significant tennis events.
This is also the 25th ATP final between the two (14-10 for Novak), moving ahead of Federer and Nadal who played 24, and their eighth Grand Slam final (4-3 for Rafa), trailing one behind Federer and Nadal who were involved in nine title matches. Rafa has implemented a new serve that changed his game entirely here in Melbourne and Novak has been on a roll pretty much since the last summer, setting up a thrilling contest that guarantees to be one of the matches of the century if they both bring their 'A game.'
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2sRylGc
No comments