Djokovic 6-3 7-5

Rafa in 3 sets.

Ha! I'm not the only one who changed my mind after seeing today's matches. Like Cheryl, I now think Rafa will win, probably in 3 sets.

rafael in 3...VAAAMOS!!!!

Even though Nole didn't play well against Fed, he always seems to bring his best when he plays Rafa. I expect him to do the same in this final. However, Rafa was really tested by Karlovic and was forced to raise his game and play some of his best tennis so far this year. Even with that shaky start in the semifinal match with Delpo, Rafa quickly got into a higher gear to come back strong and take that first set. Then in the second set he was blasting his forehands and those dtl and cc backhands with brilliant precision and accuracy. He took control of the match and got the straight set win. I think he has now gained some momentum going into this final. When a title is on the line, I have to go with Rafa in three sets.

Nole in 2 sets.

For me, Rafa is still rusty, especially his serve. His serve has become a critical part of his hard court game. Watching his match with delpo, I observed that eacj time he got a first serve in, he had so many options: he could follow it up with a volley (of which he is now the master), he could stay on the baseline and unleash a forehand. His first serve percentage has been nowhere near 60% ALL tournament so far, that is below par for Rafa. I expect it to improve come the clay season, not during this final.

Nole is simply in the zone. He is currently the best returner IMHO. I expect this purple patch to continue right up to Madrid, where he will hit the wall.

Having said that, this has been a good tournament for Rafa, he more than defended his points, primes him nicely for defending all those points ahead. He has plenty of room to improve, his motivation is there, his "fight" spirit is the best out there.

VAMOS!!!!

i watched too much tennis this week so i can't be bothered with the final :(
bon match!

rafaisthebest,

Having just watched the rerun of Rafa's match on the tennis channel, I can tell you that the final stats for 1st serves in were 58%. Now that's not quite 60, but it's close. Also, in Rafa's quarterfinal match with Karlovic, it was up in the 60's, I don't remember the exact number.

Another thing I noticed upon a second viewing of the match, is that Rafa took some speed off his first serve. I tried to check out that scoreboard that gets cut off by the tv, but can still be visible many times. Earlier in the match, Rafa was serving at about the mid 120's mph. Then I made it a point to look at the speed as Rafa started getting those first serves in later in the match and it was about in the mid 115 mph range. Rafa was aware enought to lose some of the speed for the sake of getting the first serves in more. It worked.

Of course, I respect your prediction.

LOL @james munoz's alias :P

Actually james also made a great point. it is a FINAL so you'l have to favor the spaniard .I too would have favored djo in a semi but hey are you guys aware of the fact that rafa is a perfect 5-0 against nole in finals? (2-0 hard 2-0 clay 1-0 grass) so rafa is the best finals' player on the atp tour for my money... rafa in 3 but yes if djo plays like the dubai final and rafa plays tentative tennis djo will blow him away in 2

rafa in 3 : 6-4 3-6 6-4

btw, another interesting stat is that 10/11 best of 3 matches between nole and rafa on hard courts have been finished in 2 sets !! only the olympics beijing semi went the distance , otherwise either rafa or nole finish the job in 2 sets ! LOL :S

NNY - i agree, but only with the first couple of sentences ;)
Djokovic does tend to play better against Nadal, so I'm hoping he's recovered enough from yesterday and can give it all he has.

Nole 7-5 6-4

^^^^So how come Rafa has a 16.7 h2h against Nole?

NNY, good point about Rafa slowing down his serve speed to improve his first serve stat......but that's what makes Rafa a winner even if he is playing badly, he is always thinking out there. That is why I will not be worried even if he loses to Nole today, he knows his serve is under par right now and I am sure that is something he will right come the clay season. It is clear the low first serve percentage is knocking his confidence a little bit hence the higher than normal UEs.

It was noteceable that on the points he got his first serve in, Delpo hardly got a play.

I am sure Uncle Toni is busy as we speak working out a strategy................

Because maybe thats just not good enough for Nadal? Because maybe 'better' doesnt mean 'best'?

I am trying so hard not to be biased and to read exactly what my brain is telling me regarding this match...no matter how hard I try it may still be that my desire to see Rafa lifting the trophy is stronger than realistic observation of the game those two are offering...they are simply the best two right now...nobody is even close to them...so the rankings is rightfully showing that...but, in regard to this match my thinking is that it is again going to be on Rafa's racquet...he will be the decisive force in this match...if he plays the way he played Nole before, not more not less, he will win the match...

as I said before, Nole was not fully tested during this tournament...I would not call Fed a test any more as Fed was the one who decided to lose yesterday...Nole just helped him out a bit...and I think Rafa has nothing to lose...so, let the show begin...honestly, it can go either way, and it is not as they are playing GS or something so that they need to kill each other in this final...

Rafa played some great tennis in the last two matches...he was more confident than ever with his backhand...his forehand will be his force again...if he was able to cope with Delpo's hard hitting from the baseline he will be able to deal with Nole?s as well...

VAMOS RAFA!!!

nole in 3 - 7-5 2-6 6-4

i just don't see him getting beaten

I am not involved in betting but I may go and put money on Rafa...I feel I can make a fortune of this one...last time Rafa was not made favorite (and I think it was the AO 2009) we know what happened.. VAMOS RAFA!

Until Nole proves he can beat Rafa in a final, Rafa is the favorite :

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

@natashao , 3/20/11 1:11 PM

Me too.

Rafa's match with Karlovic was exactly as everybody's match with Karlovic, taking advantage of a slim opportunity of him losing his serve but Rafa went one better by beating 6.1 in the 2nd set, not many have done that,I'd be interested to know who else has done that. So fro me, that was when I began to get less worried about Rafa's game.

I was concerned about his game against Somdev because Somdev was doing anything special to take Rafa to 7.5 in the first set. Against Delpo, once Rafa got rid of his nerves I knew Delpo would lose in 2 sets.

Vamos Rafa!

Somdev WASN'T doing anything special to take Rafa to 7.5 in the first set.

If Novak can't beat Rafa playing the way he is now, on hard courts, forget about taking the #1 from him.

Yesterday's match concerns me too, but Novak had to get a bad day out of the way and will bring it for the final. I think he is not only serving better than the USO final but also returning better, and this being a best-of-three, he won't even have to keep up the level for too long. My only concern is his knee, and the the fact that he might be a bit exhausted by now.

Novak must know that if he can meet Rafa at a Masters event, that bodes well for the Slams this year. It's now or never Nole, this is your chance.

the knee doesnt concern me, he hasnt had problems with it all week and it seems to be more to show his support to Japan. the exhaustion factor is concerning however.

yeah, I think he is just pretending he has a knee issue in order to do the Japan thing

on a related note, i am NOT impressed with Djokovic's "support Japan" thing. I really dislike it, in fact. Ploy for undeserved positive publicity.

If you want to support Japan, donate your prize money. Don't write on a piece of tape telling OTHER people to support Japan. Do it yourself and do so anonymously. That's when you know its from the heart.

I don't have a problem with being vocal about it. There are probably people who emulate Nole and if hes says "support Japan" they will.

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to have him put his money where his mouth is, would it?

ricky - you dont know that he's not donating.

mriidula - i know. maybe he is. and he BETTER BE since he is getting all of this positive publicity for it.

Haha, Ricky, how do you know Nole hasn't already donated anonymously? But, the trouble with anonymous donations is that no one will know about it. So, if we accept your argument that that's when we know it's from the heart, it looks like, if they do it publicly, we cannot say it is from the heart and if they do it anonymously we do not say it is from the heart because we do not know about it! So poor donors, they get no credit either way!

holdserve, why should donors want "credit" for it anyway?

@RickyDimon , 3/20/11 4:18 PM

I'm glad you've said it, I felt like that since he signed Adje Japan on the camera lens after one of his matches, it's so bovious he's trying to court the affection of the Japanese people after the fuss they made of Rafa when he played there last year, I think he's trying too hard to replace Rafa in every way.

The other players have pledged their support it other ways without making too much noise about it.

Sorry Nole fans, but that's how it looks to me.

But nadline...if it seems to you that does not mean it's true...
I have feeling that you are desperately trying to dig out everything bad about Nole...
...and NO!!! He don't want to replace Rafa... he want to be Nole!!!
They are good friends out of court, going out together, watching football together... so I really think that we, the fans should try to keep that lvl...
I am not going to say something against Rafa, because I have only respect and admiration for that boy... but I can see more and more comments here about "Rafa will kick Nole" and so on... I really don't see need for that...

Wait 'till the end of finale... then we shall see... I am sure that better man will win...

"That being said, it wouldn't hurt to have him put his money where his mouth is, would it?"

how do u know he hasn't already. should he write the donated amount on his baseball cap?

nadline - again, its not always about Rafa you know. its getting quite ridiculous that you think everything is about nadal. what you said was pretty harsh and uncalled for, you dont see us talking that way about nadal. and 'replace'?! youve got to be kidding me.

zare - i agree with u, i too did not like the word 'kick' being used so much. its quite offensive. i just didnt wanna bring it up as i dont wanna start anything.

Deuce, donors may not need credit but we cannot condemn Nole for his public efforts by assuming that because he is doing something publicly, he is not doing anything privately. He is a showman and he is using his skills to give more publicity to the Japan effort. It does not preclude his making his contribution in other ways.

I am sure Nole is smart enough to know that Rafa got pampered by Japan because he is the best tennis player and tomorrow if Nole becomes the best, he will get the same treatment. Tennis stars are loved for their prowess and no one really knows the person behind the image. While charitable efforts add to the image, they cannot replace excellence on the tennis courts to win the love of the fans and I am sure Nole knows this.

I didn't mean to be harsh, but it just looks like he's trying to hard.

Maybe I'm totally wrong and he just wants to help Japan but I can't help saying what I think.

OK I take it back.

"yeah, I think he is just pretending he has a knee issue in order to do the Japan thing"
RickyDimon, 3/20/11 4:16 PM
...Ricky take look at Dubai's photos... Nole has bandages also....
BTW...He didn't donate money... NOBODY DID!!
...since I am living in Geneva, and have very close contacts with UN, I know.
Japanesse government, proud as their nation, simply does not accept the money yet. They will kindly thank you and say that maybe in future... but now there is no need now...
Nadline nobody is attacking you... and no hard feelings... lets enjoy in beautiful match...

"Japanesse government, proud as their nation, simply does not accept the money yet."

trade surplus of ~ 40 b$ must have something to do with it.

on a completely different note, the women's finals are taking way too long! couldnt they have played later, i'm getting so impatient.

RAFA in 3 sets---- 3-6,6-4,7-6

on a completely different note, the women's finals are taking way too long! couldnt they have played later, i'm getting so impatient.

mriiidula , 3/20/11 7:39 PM



The men's final is not due to start before 8pm GMT anyway.

holdserve - you think the only point of doing good deeds for other people is to get credit for it?

wow. just wow.

Nadal is the undisputed No. 1 but Djokovic is the best hard court player in the world.

nadline - yea thats what i meant, i wish it was the other way around. we would be biting our nails right now.

Ricky, you made that statement because you realized you had raised an untenable or impractical objection to Nole's good deeds.

However, it is a fact that people donate to get credit for it, either publicity and goodwill and maybe winning elections or, tax deduction or simply to feel good about themselves. If there are people who are donating anonymously, are they also not claiming tax deductions? If they are not even claiming tax deductions and like Dr Hudson and magnificent obsession, take care that no one knows about it, even then they get credit because they apparently get superpowers (or at least they feel good about it, if you do not believe in Lloyd C. Douglas' theory). So, Ricky, every donor gets credit in some form but if he does it anonymously, he won't get that credit from you as you won't know about it.

If people had to sponsor anonymously, there shoudn't be any advertisments in tennis media and on tennis courts.

Incidentally, I must clarify that when I said, poor donors don't get credit either way, I meant credit from Ricky. If they do it publicly he will say it is not from the heart and if they do it anonymously Ricky doesn't know about it.

mriiidula, 3/20/11 11:18 AM,

If you had agreed with any more of what I said in that post, then I would be worried about you! :)

Haha, NNY!
Although I am a Rafa fan, I really don't mind either one of these hugely talented guys winning!
If Nole wins, the tennis season will become more exciting because then the threat of Nole replacing Rafa at #1 becomes more real. If Rafa wins, we can yawn and say, what's new?
But either way, I am not really worried because the clay season is round the corner and Rafa will consolidate his hold on the # 1 ranking. Although in another tennis fan site, posters are writing that Nole in his present form can topple Rafa from the clay throne, my own reading is that no one can best Rafa on a consistent basis on his beloved clay.

Augustina, yes, and we know that without all these sponsorships there would be no pro-tennis.
How much of the donations for charity are anonymous? Haha!

Rafa breaks, leads 3.2

Djoko breaks back 3-3. Sublime tennis!

Nadal gets another break!

Rafa gets the first set! He is serving well!

Keep it up Rafa!



Vamos Rafa!

holdserve - correct. maybe Djokovic IS doing something other than writing on tape. I'm just saying I don't think the tape is necessary for anything other than PR reasons.

i told you guys Djoker would win. Expert picks are just boring now - its way too easy cause I'm always right and all the other writers are always wrong.

I am going to ask our readers to take me on for Miami. Who wants in?

Ricky, you got the set order wrong:) And, nadline, just because you're such a biased Nadal fan, and despite being the fan of the GOAT, YESSS!

Ricky Dimon you originally picked Djokovic to lose to Roddick in the QF. You only picked him to win the SF and Final once you saw that he was in scary form. your original pick to win this event was Nadal with Roddick as the runner up and Djokovic as a losing quarter finalist, So you mustn't take any credit for this.

If you had picked a Djokovic/Nadal final with Djokovic prevailing before the event started then you deserve credit not now. Cant have it both ways.

Ricky, you got the set order wrong:) And, nadline, just because you're such a biased Nadal fan, and despite being the fan of the GOAT, YESSS!

DanyalRasool , 3/21/11 5:17 AM


Got it in 1 Dany. 'Biased' and 'fan' are one and the same thing and I am not ashamed to say that I am completely biased towards Nadal, no ifs no buts, simple as that. At least everyone knows where I'm coming from.

The word fan is an abbreviation of fanaticism which means - a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, for example, sports; or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...........for that read Rafa. I'm glad that I'm living up to the meaning of the word.

I have congratulated Nole and his fans for his victory, even though it hurts, I can't deny that Nole beat Nadal yesterday, there are no excuses.

Oh Dany, I wear my heart of my sleeve, and I'm not one for thinking one thing and saying another. What you see is what you get.

This loss doesn't hurt me half as much as the loss to Sod at RG or even to Delpo in Miami.

Nole is so much more confident now that I think he will not fold for the rest of the year, the others have just got to up their game to stop him. When your player loses to a worthy winner it's so much easier to take, because, whatever gloss you want to put on it, Nole was the better player yesterday.

the Miami draw still has the Novak-AndyR-Roger killer combo. but this time, AndyM is also in the mix!

^^ Oops, scratch that, I saw what I was expecting to see :)

LOL ^^^

What annoys me, nadline, is that, in my opinion, Roger played just as good (bad?) a match against Novak as Rafa did. Rog was poor in set 1, Rafa rather ordinary in Set 3. But what people say now, is that Fed's finished and its down to the Djoker and Nadal. Granted, they are the two best players in the world right now, but even when he's the wrong side of 30, on his day, Roger beats anyone, even Djokovic and Nadal. People are so quick to write him off!

So why take it out on me when I was merely cheering my guy on during the match, I haven't commented on Roger's loss to Djokovic at all. Some Fedfans seem to even hate Rafa having any fans.

Just annoyed that's all! Not your fault, I was merely supporting Djoker for the final. Sorry :-)

I bet you were cheering for Djokovic when he was playing Federer.

DanyalRasool,

I agree with you...Fed is playing well, but his style of play is not working against Djoker at the moment, who is very much confident of winning everything returning almost everything back..

But we will have to wait and watch as how things unfold in clay session.

It will be very tough for Fed to regain his #2 ranking because djoker at the moment has a good lead, and is not defending any point in Miami...

After miami till wimby its going to be very competative..These tournamets are very crucial from top 3's prospective..

Nadal will have to defend 7000+ points and djoker and Fed will look to add as much as they can...


After wimby the battle for number 1 can be between Djoker and Nadal or (If Fed wins Wimby) it could be a three way battle for the top spot...

Many will write Fed off as they had done in past, so its upto them to write him off.

Danya,
why do you care what sport commentators or bloggers say? You love Roger, you have faith in him, you know he is still right at the top, you know he can produce great tennis and beat anyone, so ... let them talk :)).

I can't call myself a Djoker fan. I am certainly not a fanatic (although my husband would say otherwise :)) ), but I am his huge admirer and his compatriot. I let people talk whatever they want - they say he is now EMERGING as a new force. Indeed? He was #3 for the last four seasons, spent more than half a season at #2 last year having pretty much lost the first half (of the season) without a serve and hampered by allergies, collected trophies that Roger doesn't have (Olympic medal in singles, Davis Cup), that Rafa doesn't have (WTF), played back to back finals in Indian Wells and Miami in 2007. (won Miami), won a GS... All this time, he was never considered a threat for anything, Murray was always put ahead of him (no offence to Andy, but Nole had better results and yet...). And it's a payback time now :)).

What I meant to say - Roger is playing great, no matter what they say, and he is still dangerous. He is certainly going to win more titles. Just enjoy ;)