World number 1 Rafael Nadal resumes his rivalry with world number 2 Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Italian Open on Sunday.
Nadal, winner in the tournament for five of the last six years, slammed past Richard Gasquet on Saturday before capturing the win with a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the semifinals. Djokovic also had a tough opponent in Andy Murray but managed to extend his winning streak to 38 matches, closing in on John McEnroe’s record of 42-0 in 1984.
Fans are in for a tough game come the finals, with the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry obviously heating up. Djokovic defeated Nadal three times since the start of the year, in Indian Wells, then in Miami, before staging another victory last weekend in Madrid, which was also his first win over Nadal on clay. The Italian Open is also another warm-up for their clay matches in the upcoming French Open.
Nadal had nothing but good words for his opponent in the finals, but told reporters that he aimed to do this best.
“Every aspect of the game will be important,” the Spanish player said. “I know Djokovic is playing at an exceptional level right now, but I just have to fight to the end like I always do. If I don’t beat him tomorrow, then the next match. I’ll probably play with less pressure than before because I (am no longer) the favorite,’’ he added.
Nadal’s match with Gasquet went smoothly. He faced break points in three games of the opening set but won all of them, improving his career record over the Frenchman at 9-0. Djokovic defeated Murray in the tiebreaker. He started to win more points in the second set and took a key break to go up 5-3, before a double fault in the third set let him in back into the match.