French Open 2014: Men's singles final preview

Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic

The countdown for the men’s singles final has begun! It is time for two of the fiercest rivals to have played the game to take on each other. There’s plenty at stake as unscripted drama unfolds in the Sunday blockbuster! You sure don’t want to miss this one!

The top 2 players in the world will battle it out for the Coupe des Mousquetaires come Sunday.

There is another added incentive to the eventual victor. The No. 1 ranking! The winner will be the World No. 1 when the rankings will be released Monday.

Both Nadal & Djokovic have not struggled on their way to the finals. Djokovic has lost 2 sets (against Marin Cilic & Ernests Gulbis), while Nadal has dropped just one set (against David Ferrer).

The two men have faced each other 41 times, with Nadal leading the rivalry 22-19. When it comes to clay courts, Nadal is 13-4. Nadal is expected to dominate Djokovic in the final based on these numbers. But, the man from Serbia has won their last 4 meetings, with the last one on clay at the Rome Masters, when he beat the Spaniard 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Nadal has lost on two other occasions this clay season. He lost in the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo to David Ferrer, while Nicolas Almagro beat him in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open. The only title he won on clay this year was at Madrid when Kei Nishikori had to retire with a back injury.

Nadal has improved tremendously as the season progressed and he’s looked at home in Paris. His victory against Andy Murray in the semis was convincing to say the least. He comes into the final with an impressive 65-1 win-loss record at Roland Garros. He is aiming for his 9th French Open. Just for the record, no man has ever won a single Grand Slam 8 times! These figures are just staggering!

Djokovic on the other hand, is looking to become only the 8th man in history to achieve a career Grand Slam. The serb looked out of sorts in the 3rd set against Gulbis, and lost his temper in the 4th set when he smashed his racket onto clay. Nadal has had the better of the serb when it comes to French Open. The Spaniard took out Djokovic in the finals in 2012 in 4 sets 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It was a much closer match in last year’s semifinals when Nadal prevailed in 5 sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7.

Djokovic will look to target Nadal’s backhand on serve and during the rally, as Nadal is struggling with his backhand returns this season. The serb’s backhand is working like magic, and Nadal will look to play the ball to Djokovic’s forehand during the rally in order to induce mistakes. Both players will have to serve well and capitalise on break point opportunities.

Nadal’s second serve is a cause of concern whenever he drops it short, giving enough time for Djokovic to go for a down the line winner. Djokovic’s second serve has been impressive in this tournament, and will go for a kick second serve against Nadal’s backhand.

Djokovic has been occupying Nadal’s mind space for some time now, and it remains to be seen if the Spaniard will come up with a different strategy in the final. Djokovic should keep calm in crucial moments of the match to stand a chance of causing an upset in the match. Nadal will be usual self, tracking down rallies at will and looking to attack from the word go!

The two men have already played the longest grand slam final ever at the 2012 Australian Open which lasted 5 hours and 33 minutes, with Djokovic coming out on top.

This final will be a close match with few breaks of serve and a tie-break or two.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in 5 sets.