Novak djokovic is number one in the world. He won every match he finished in this corona-torn tennis year.
ATP cup, australian open, dubai, cincinnati masters, rome masters: not once did the 33-year-old serb have to congratulate his opponent on a victory after the final ball change. Only at the US open did the official tournament statistics for 2020 show an "L" for "loss" because the eighth final against the spanish player pablo carreno busta was abandoned and djokovic was disqualified. Out of anger he had hit a ball away and hit a line judge.
And yet the former protege of boris becker will not go into the final match of the french open on sunday (15), which is expected by all experts and longed for by all fans, as the designated title favorite with an asterisk.00 o"clock/eurosport) in paris. Because his opponent is the twelve-time tournament winner, the record champion and undisputed best clay court player in the world: world number two rafael nadal. "Of course the conditions are different than usual, when we played in may or june. But, hey, regardless, it's rafa, it's a final, and it's on sand," said djokovic.
In contrast to the women's competition, which has seen major shifts this year and where a roland-garros final between sofia kenin (U.S.A.) and iga swiatek (poland) was not necessarily expected, the men's competition will indeed be the ultimate test of strength between the world's best tennis players at present.
No other duel has been more frequent in the history of professional tennis djokovic and roger federer have faced each other 50 times so far, nadal and federer 40 times. Of the 55 matches so far, djokovic has won 29, nadal 26. On the red ash courts of paris, however, the serb has only managed one victory against the left-hander from mallorca: in 2015, djokovic defeated nadal in the quarterfinals, but then lost to swiss stan wawrinka in the final match.
"I will look back on this match and try to remember the positive aspects and find good tactics against him," djokovic said after defeating greece stefanos tsitsipas in five sets in the semifinals on friday night. "I do not feel physically exhausted."Everything is set for the showdown, for the final match at the last grand slam tournament of the season, for the climax of a tournament that has also been marked by corona charges, spectator exclusions and debates about test results.
Nadal, who in his 13. Paris final after 13. The team, which has won 99 of the 101 matches it has played, is not only looking to maintain and build on its impressive streak. He was able to win with a 20. Grand slam title even with federer, who has already ended his season. After his semifinal win over argentina's diego schwartzman, nadal, who is not a fan of elaborate predictions before a match, said: "i will give everything for this to happen."
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