nadal in 4

6-4,3-6,7-6,7-5

Fed Vs Nole was a spectacular match and it nonetheless by fluke that Nole won. So, the quality is always there with Nole, its just the matter of physicality. I don't think it affects too much to play for four hours and then play in less than 24 hours. Nole certainly has a chance against Rafa. However, Rafal is playing some fantastic tennis probably the best ever tennis. I guess Nole has a chance, but it certainly depends on how he takes his chances, if he takes he will have chances to win.
I see Nole wins. 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 or in 4 sets.

Nole in 4
6-2 7-6 1-6 7-5

no way nadal is beating djokovic playing like that.

nadal will be lucky to win a set.
nadal will feel too much pressure and choke as usual in HC finals.
the more attacking player deserves to win.

nole in 3.

As much as I want and feel Nole needs a Grand Slam now, I think he's just gonna take the first set, and then it's gonna be all Rafa. I hope I'm wrong and we get a great match tonight.

there is no issue in that djokovic is tired
he is also a good player and world no 3 and capable of beating rafa
joker is also desparate for grand slam and he will get this time
nole in 4 or 5 sets

djokovic is playing great great tennis. he beat federer! but nadal is better than federer right now! djokovic needs to play another great match, but he also needs to do a hell lot of more running. if he can ride the momentum he has a little chance.

i don't agree with attackintennisrulez, nadal doesn't feel the pressure, not in GS. he always plays to win, never afraid to lose.

this will be a great match of tennis, with both guys playing to win.

mriiidula-i agree. Novak has the game to beat nadal,but I doubt he has the fitness after yesterdays marathon.(and nadals easier ride) Maybe if Murray was around he might have the made the semis even.. If Novak wants to win,he HAS to win in 3/4 easy sets.

I agree with tj600, I have doubts in Novak's fitness to recuperate so quickly and be able to compete against such a physically powerful player like Rafa.

Rafa: 7-5, 6-2, 6-4

If Novak wants to win,he HAS to win in 3/4 EASY sets.
tj600, 9/12/10 11:58 AM
... you know who he is playing tomorrow, right?

Rafa
6-4 6-3 7-5

Nadal 6-4, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4

Look at all the crystal balls here putting out their prophecies! You can weigh the pluses and minuses of both players all day long but we must not underestimate the drive and hunger both players have right now for the title. I believe Nole will find enough juice to last a 5-setter and Rafa will come up with his best tennis yet. Smart tennis will always outlast physical tennis and this is a test for Nole to come up with smarter tennis. But Rafa will play his style of tennis and try and make the points last as long as possible. Two things will happen for sure. Rafa's toes will all be bandaged up like a wounded soldier and nobody will buy Nole's dad's t-shirt even if he won the finals!

people giving novak no chance are clueless.
he is not that tired, he is young and the weather is not hot.

he can cause nadal huge trouble, he will be attacking.
nadal will go there thinking he will win and novak will stun him.

nadal will play his usual defensive crap and will lose.

go novak.

novak in 3.

6-4 3-6 7-5 6-4 nadal

nadal is not winning this.
too defensive and is the ultimate choker on HC surface.

haha, sorry ATR but rafa is winning this one :P

IF nadal wins , here are the main achievements that will flood the internet/newspapers:

1.7th man complete the career slam
2.2nd man ever to complete golden slam
3.1st man EVER to win 3 slams on 3 diff surfaces in a SINGLE year !!!
4.first man since laver to win the french-wimbledon-Us open combo in a single year


and I am not sure how many apart from laver and fed have won 3 slams in a row !

*and if rafa wins without dropping a set it will be another open era record, first man ever to win 3 slams without dropping a single set in grand slam wins :D

history waiting to be re-written, go rafa go !!

u just dont get it, djokovic will be pumped up even more because everyone thinks he is tired so he will concentrate even more.
the weather is cooler, and djokovic is a much better HC player, he own nadal on HC.
nadal will think he has it easy in the final with a tired opponent and will be s urprised by djokovic.
more pressure on nadal to win because everyone expects him to win due to him playing better tennis and having a tired opponent, thus he will choke.

djokovic has nothing to lose like when he played federer, and thats when djokovic is very dangerous.

djokovic will win this final in 3 sets.
if it goes 5 he might lose so he will go all out and destroy nadal in 3 sets.

ATR, I do believe you love Rafa and just don't want to jinx him.
I predict Rafa in straight sets if the match takes place today. The ladies' doubles match has been suspended because of intermittent rain. Don't know whether Nole- Rafa match will happen today.

ladies match will continue on louis armstrong and dont worry play will resume shortly.

Sorry bout the predictions, Ricky! Been travelling without much cellphone access!

ATR picks Novak to win in 3 which automatically means that Rafa will win in 3 or 4. ATR, you are the ultimate jinxer.

@ice

not this time.
this time i will be right.

ricky will be wrong and he promised me to give me my own blog if im right and he is wrong.

play suspended until 4 PM Monday

nadal is finished.

lol

djokovic will be fully recovered.

bye bye nadal

ok new prediction: Rafa in four.. nole will still save atleast one championship point before surrendering. 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 rafa

Wow. The career grand Slam - Three in a row.. and all possibility to make it A Rafa Slam with Aus Open next year.

this is how nadal will play against djokovic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=copAafTsz6I

With Djokovic now well rested, I think its a 50-50 match now.Either player can win it. Promises to be a cracker. A long 4 or 5 setter is possible. I think Djokovic now has the a little edge

Rafa will play like he played against Youzhny, but better. In that match Rafa came up to the net an unprecedented number of times. He used serve-and-volley far more than usual and was successful at net. Rafa's HC game has evolved substantially and that's why I think he will win Monday in 3 sets.

Score:

6-4, 6-3, 6-2

I too think that Rafa will win his first USO, however, now that Novak has had a chance to rest I think it will be a bit tougher. What would have been over with in four sets now may take five. Cmon Rafa :)

I have no doubt Rafa will give all his best to win this match. As I keep on telling, a healthy/fit Nadal can hardly get troubled by anyone. They have to play lights out tennis to put pressure on Rafa, but once Rafa felt the pressure, that's the time he's tightening his grip and you have to play suicidal tennis to overcome a healthy/fit Rafa, so I am so calm for this final...Rafa may win US Open without dropping a set.

With the rain delay, don't expect Rafa will just stay lay on his bed waiting for the time to play his match...this delay will give him time to tune/tone up his backhand and and other part of his arsenal that ara not clicking well during the past 6 matches.

The postponement will just add up more power/enery on his tank to be utilized in delivering 135+ bombs.

grafight - i hope it wont be that easy for nadal!

Since both players are rested now, I guess it's pretty even..Nadal definitely has more experience at a GS Final though, maybe that would help? But Djokovic on a hard court cannot be taken lightly, no matter how well Nadal is playing at the moment.

I'm hoping for a Nole victory in 4.

its slightly better that we had a rainy day yesterday.....much needed rest for the djoker....no IFS

---no IFS or BUTS regarding how fair the match scheduling is...no excuses...everything FAIR....let the best man win

VAMOS RAFA!!

the nadal camp knows djokovic has nadal's number on HC.

djokovic is now full rested, nadal knows he just blew his only chance at the USO.

i seldom felt it so pointless to try and predict the outcome of a match. this one is up for grabs!

hello ATR....:)

i was just watching the highlights of rafa's other matches against nole on hardcourts...all the matches that rafa has lost against nole have been in straight sets....nole has never beaten rafa in 3 on a hardcourt...thts a pretty cool stat....so its either quickly over in 2 or rafa clinches it in 3.....of course this is a SLAM and nole needs to take away 3 sets from rafael(which will be a FIRST for him if he manages that).....HE will have to make a breakthrough and play consistent tennis....the mental aspect of it is as important too....

regarding the tactics and capability aspect...we all know nole can beat rafa...its the execution part that is almost herculean.....

hoping rafa wins this one and makes history...bring joy to his fans again...and even if he doesnt...there is always a next time.....he wont give up...thts for sure

VAMOS

Yes vrael, I've noticed that stats, in fact, not only now, but since beginning of this year I had already watched out for Rafa's H2H against Nole on the hard courts and also the scoreline. It seems that since that win that Rafa had over Nole in the IW Final in 2007, Rafa had been having problems with Nole on the hard courts. The other two times he had beaten Nole on the hard courts were at the TMC 2007, where Nole was obviously not at his freshest; and at the Beijing Olympics where Rafa had beaten Nole in three sets. Rafa was at the top of his game in 2008, and still he lost a set 1-6 to Nole in that Olympics semifnal.

However, we are looking at a different Rafa now. He has adjusted his position by standing closer to the baseline and has a much more lethal serve now. If anything, he can rely on his serve to bail him out of trouble, that's why his serves were only broken twice so far in this tournament. I think his backhand is still not at its best yet (it was at its best at AO 09), same with his ROS. Still I like Rafa's chances as he can maintain his high level of play consistently throughout a match, without much ups or downs, unlike some other players. As long as he doesn't give away free points easily and maintains his high level of play throughout, he remains very hard to beat.

In order for Djokovic to beat Nadal he will have to play considerably better than he did against Fed who played horribly and Rafa will have to play the worst match he has played in this tournament!

Djokovic's serves percentage will need to be in the mid 60's to early 70's and he will have to have a least half as many unforced errors as winners, in order to even grab a set off Nadal. He will have to hit deep and flat and not miss.

A winner count of 36 to 38 unforced errors as in the fed match, will not cut it, he will lose 6-4 6-3 6-3 otherwise.
Remember that Verdasco at AO 09 hit over 100 winners and still lost, because Rafa due to pure will and hunger to reach the final refused to lose in 5hr and 40 mins.
And once he got into the final, he stayed out there another 4hrs and 20mins to beat the Fed, at his own game against all odds.
If Rafa managed this, when extremely fatigued (now this is fatigue) and with wonked up knees, what makes anyone think that a fit, healthy well rested Rafa can be beaten in the US Open final.

If you think I am smoking the good stuff check out the match stats of the Fed v Djok match.

Fed made of 66 unforced errors and only put 53% of his first serves in, yet still took novak to 5.

As much as I love Novak, the only person that can beat Nadal is Nadal.

In my opinion Novak has to take the 1st and Second set in succession if he is to have any chance and his serve must be firing. He needs to put Nadal away in 3 and keep the points very short. If he doesn't, he may grab one set, due to a rafa mental laps but no more.
You may say that I am being very anti Djokovic, but when I look at things via the stats and what each player brings to the table, Nadal reigns supreme.

So provided Nadal doesnt do a Federer, I predict Rafa completing his career slam!

6-4 6-4 7-6

the problem with novak(or andyM) for nadal on a fast HC is that his bread and butter vicious CC forehand is neutralized to a certain extent and the short balls that he sometime gives are punished....these are some worrying aspects...rafa's backhand needs to be better today to make life tougher for the serb....he just cant rely on his fh alone

you can try and predict all you want and it won't matter. there is a new hard court rafa so old meetings don't mean much. and djokovic is well rested and with boosted confidence. it is wide open.

Djokovic is gonna be well rested and fresh. Even with Nadal's improved hard court game, you'd have to feel that Novak has the upper hand in terms of a matchup. I never discount Nadal in a slam final, but this is Nole's chance and I expect him to take it.

People forget why Federer made 66 unforced errors. It was because the man on the other side was Nole. Very similar to how he lost to Nadal at the AO last year. In fact, if it wasn't Federer on the other side of the net, Nole should have wrapped the semi in at least four sets; considering that he blew a solid first set advantage.

Regardless, I dont mind a Rafa win. He's my second favourite player on tour and deserves anything he gets.

nadal knows he just blew his only chance at the USO.


attackingtennisrulez , 9/13/10 9:53 AM


i can't be bothered arguing with the rest of your posts, but nadal hardly blew his chances here. the rain can't be blamed on him, can it?

Ricky and Cheryl, do you intend to revise your opinion given that an extra day has come into the picture? I hope not. If there is one thing Rafa has shown time and time again, it is the ability to seize opportunities when they come his way.

There is only one winner tonight. I am not saying it will be easy, but I will be glued to the screen for sure.

VAMOOOSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

samprallica-i absolutely agree. There was a reason why feds 1st serve percentage was low. At last year?s USO, as Federer was cruising through the first two sets against Soderling, Darren Cahill noted that Federer's first serve percentage had been very high because the Swede was not forcing him to go for more than he was comfortable with.

Against a good returner who also moves well?Cahill named Nadal and Andy Murray as examples?Federer?s first serve percentage has been known to drop as he tries to add about 5 mph more to it. He can now add Djokovic to that list,as he was returning INSANELY good. In the third set, Federer served at 62% and lost the set 6-2. Nole's returns were THAT good. I saw Nole did something that none does to Federer (not even Nadal, Murray does, but he has other problems) -- standing close to the baseline on Fed's second serve and doesn't allow it to kick the way it usually does. He was ripping Federer's second serves yesterday, and was putting all the first serves into play if Federer was not hitting the corners. Thus,he rushed federer off the ground,and forced him to make a lot of unforced errors. Now that he is rested,he has a shot against nadal,and if truth be told,federer's actually a tougher match up for djokovic on hard courts than Nadal. The spaniard is still the favourite due to the fact that this is a big match and his mental toughness,but only an idiot would totally discount djokovic.

This will be Nadal's first test during this US Open. All his other opponents (including Djokovic today) except Istomin had been coming from 5 set matches in the precious round and didn't have the stamina or the quality to trouble Nadal. Djokovic on the other hand, although coming from a 5-setter, has the stamina and quality to beat Nadal especially on hard courts.

I'll go with my original pre-tournament pick:
Djokovic in 4 hard sets, 6-4 7-6 3-6 7-5

I think since Fed having bad back, his serves really suffered. We are used to Fed serving below 60% or even below 50% for his first serves nowadays. Its not only during this SF, his serves fell apart in that AO 09 final, and I believe also in last year's USO final too.

Even though Nole played well, we can't explain why Fed fell apart in that second and the fourth sets. It must have been because of Fed's own lapses of concentration, if not he won't lose the sets 1-6 and 2-6, having fought hard to win the first and the third sets 7-5, 7-5. It seems that nowadays, Fed just cannot play consistently well throughout a best of five sets match. There are bound to be lapses during his matches. Other then the second and fourth sets, the other three sets all end with scores of 7-5, 7-5, 7-5. If there were no lapses from Fed, I would expect the match to be much closer, though Nole might still win in the end.

Rafa vs Nole, its hard to call. I still give the slight edge to Rafa, because he is both physically and mentally fresh and ready, and he is determined to win this slam. A determined Rafa with his improved game in a slam final is really hard to beat.

I think that Nole's fatigue is just a little overblown, we are talking about hours more rest for Rafa not a day or 2, and Djoko would have benefited from the buzz of beating Federer, the sooner he returned to the court to play Rafa.

To me the odds have always been 50/50, but that's not taking into account Rafa's current form, with his new serve etc. The last 3 times that Djoko beat Rafa, most people would have beaten Rafa during that period.

'The last 3 times that Djoko beat Rafa, most people would have beaten Rafa during that period'

Well said nadline. If we substitute any of the top ten guys, excl. Tsonga, for Djoko, anyone of these top ten guys could have beaten Rafa then. We saw Davy beating Rafa at the Shanghai Masters final and at WTF; we saw Sod beating Rafa at the WTF; we saw Delpo beating Rafa at the Canada Masters and the USO SF. My goodness, we even saw Cilic giving Rafa a beating at the Beijing Open last year with a score of 6-1, 6-3! I remembered during that Cilic match, I was so worried that Rafa would be bagelled! Not forgetting, I saw the worst match ever played by Rafa, when he played against Almagro at the Paris Masters last year; I could hardly recognize that player on the court!! That was how bad Rafa was during the second half of last year! How can we compare that Rafa to this Rafa we are seeing at this USO?

Not to discount Rafa who I think is amazing, but do we. Really have an idea about how his 2010 game with the new serve measures up against the top players? The only decent HC player he has had to deal with so far has been an _exhausted_ Verdasco. I do think he will win today because it's a Slam final and he has a bigger heart anyone on the ATP tour. However, I think we need to acknowledge Novak's quality on fast hard courts and admit that he would probably have beaten Rafa anyway in the last 3 matches, just not as convincingly.

What about Nole's serve?? It was working against Fed but is it still unpredicable or does he have a handle on it now?

stu, yes of course Djoko would probably have beaten Rafa anyway the last 3 times, but Rafa could also probably have beaten Novak if he hadn't taken time off with injury. As I said, to me it's 50/50, even though Rafa has a 14.7 h2h against on all courts, I feel though that top 10 player or not, players like Istomin will be a match for anyone in the top 10, that aside, I also believe that Rafa does have the edge on Djokovic overall.

stu, McQ, and mriidula are all in the guest expert picks now, check it out

I think it's golden racquet time for mriiidula :)

Ricky, I think you and cheryl should pay penance for your disastrous forecast of the final 2, and forfeit any awards you might earn in the next tournament.

Great comments, everyone. I will be very happy for Nole, should he win. Both players are great individuals and great athletes I admire. I would hate to see too lopsided of a victory on either side, yet mentally and physically Rafa has a clear edge.
Rafa has had a super year, while Nole has performed sub-par for him, even though he has made it this far at the USO. What I saw on Saturday was that Youzhny, Federer and Djokovic, all 3, played at a level below Rafa, with the exception of maybe a few brilliant moments in the Roger/Nole final set. But even then, great points were sometimes canceled out by bad errors.
Putting aside all past stats and numbers, just the way I see the players right now, I think Rafa will win this one in straights. Plus I don't think the rain delay will benefit Nole, on the contrary, mentally is just another day to wait and stew over the match.
At the end we will hear this familiar words:
"Sorry for Nole, he has had a great tournament and I wish him the best for the rest of the season"

grafight - I don't think it's fair to compare Nadal's game at the semis with Djoko's or Federer's because he was not playing an opponent of equal calibre. Plus, Youzhny had had a rougher ride to the semis than Rafa.

I do agree with you and nadline that if they had played Sunday, the adrenaline rush from the fed match would have given djokovic a boost, but an extra day to think about what could go wrong might not be a good thing for him?

Nadal will come out with ALL guns blazing and he will refuse Djokovic the chance to play his game.

Although I do like Novak and I was happy for his semi-final win, I predict Rafa in three tough sets!!!

However, may the best man win!

VAMOS!!!!!!!

LOL at those picking nadal to win.
djokovic owns nadal on HC.

stu, a lot of the errors I saw on the first four sets of the Fed/Nole match were really unforced, meaning independent of the caliber of player on the other side of the net. Also Nole and Fed where trying to play their game and stay on the match. Rafa in contrast had a clear strategy, playing intelligently to Mikhail's weakest shot (his forehand), going up to the net when needed and winning the key points convincingly instead of relying on opponent's errors. Youzhny played very well for him, but Rafa was devastating, taking his game apart with surgical precision. We constantly tout Roger's finesse, but Rafa's sharp shooting is just as amazing.

Monalysa: agreed 100%

grafight, that was the impression I got when I watched the recordind of Fed/Djoko, and I must admit, it warmed my heart.


VAMOS!

Youzhny brought his A* game against Rafa, and he serves very well. He played much better against Rafa than he did against Robredo and Wawrinka, so for Rafa to beat him in straight sets, was very good.

Cheryl and Ricky:
Given that your predictions were written with the less than 24 hours rest in mind, would you consider revising your predictions now - perhaps games won only, perhaps also number of sets won?

chloro - i'm sticking with Nadal in 4

however, sets 3 and 4 will surely be closer than 3 an 3 now

Thank you, Ricky.

I've been thinking Nadal in 4 since Saturday and still think it.


Oh, and after the dreams that came after seeing the new hardcourt Nadal this fortnight ... that he'll get one more US Open in the future (Nole at least one himself). And if his knee treatments and other plans for his knees continue to work (I've always wished only the one thing for Nadal: health) then he just might get one more Australian Open as well (for a double career grand slam), 25% chance of a second gold single in '12 (at age 26), and at least 2 more French Opens (to surpass Borg's 6). A lot to ask for, and it's not all gonna happen, but it sure seems in the realm of the possible...

I think Rafa wants a no-hitter. 3 close sets.

Dear Editor`s,

Hope that you are wrong with your forecast - as always, and that Nole will win. Federer sad:"Whoever overlooked Novak Djokovic, he do not know much about tennis!"

Marija,
perhaps the commentators here and on other blogs and newspapers were a little pulled by the allure of the dream match: Roger and Rafa in a US Open final for the first time... and Roger used to have the edge on hardcourts in the past.... although this time it might have resembled RG '08 a little more than AO '09.

Coming back to Fed's point: absolutely true you should not overlook Nole. Which is why they have been saying that Nadal would rather meet Roger in this final.

Nadal in 4

NEVER IN DOUBT

kudos TO RICKY....:)

kudos to lil wayne too...

yea lil wayne ! what an expert..

good job ricky and cheryl , i was spot on too :D what a victory :P

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!!............ TENNIS WINS!!!............ RAFA is the BEST!!!........... NOVAK is "alive" again!!!!................. Great job everyone!!!!

Congratulations, Cheryl:
Your scoreline prediction is perfect for sets 1, 2 and 4, and for set 3. How do you do it :-) ?

Congrats to Rafa for a wonderful USO and his career golden slam at 24, and kudos to Nole for a valiant effort. "Finals is always a good result."

Many thanks to all the experts who picked Rafa in four! You gave me heart after he lost the second set. Sympathies to mriidula (sp?) I know you picked with your heart.
"Never in doubt?" eh, Ricky? lol! Luv you guys!!

And congrats cheryl, looks as if your expert prediction was closest?

Thanks Ramara, I did! But Rafa was just too good :)

nope, mine was closest

as always!

Congrats Rafa!!!!

Love this article...

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2010-09-13/201 009131284404343670.html

you must be cheating ricky, cheryl got the exact score in three out of four sets!

isnt it a tie??? novak won a total of 17 games against rafa in the final

both the experts predicted that novak wins 18....SO,isnt it a draw?

@vrael, any update on clayking??

I emailed him again today..no replies yet

i hope he is fine , do let me know if u get to hear anything from him.

croc, vrael - Cheryl didn't even get the sets right! She had Djoker winning the first!!!!

no way! cheryl had the first, second and fourth set totally correct. she wins!

vrael: me 2 re clayking. Hope it's nothing more serious than that his studies caught up with him. He's SUCH a show-stopper!