[ad_1]
Hello. I hope you are sitting at a comfortable place because we could be here for a while. Probably not as long as in 2012, when these two gladiators decided that the final should last five hours and 53 minutes, considering the fact that they broke the tie in the fifth set this year. year. But you will still need a lot of stamina for this one. Novak Djokovic against Rafael Nadal, after all; they are so competitive that they go into a war of the thumb, so be aware of their intensity when they have so much sporting history at stake.
It's a huge game for both men for so many reasons. Let's start with Djokovic, who wants to overtake Roger Federer and Roy Emerson by winning a seventh record in the Australian Open, and who also wants to become the first man in history to record three consecutive Grand Slam series or more. It did not seem likely a year ago, when he was plunged into a physical and spiritual doldrums and he started in the quarter-finals with Hyeon Chung, there is no doubt that it is him who will beat again. The reigning Wimbledon champion and the US Open has regained the form that made him so terribly untouchable before he's in pain this dive, as Lucas Pouille discovered in a brutal semifinal Friday, and he starts as the favorite.
It may seem surprising, knowing that Nadal has not lost a heat in this tournament, but Djokovic owns this field and is undefeated in his last seven games on hard ground with the Spaniard. He is leading their personal best 27-25, won their semifinal at Wimbledon last year and has lost only two of their last ten games. These figures are convincing and will give immense confidence to Djokovic who hopes to move to two Nadal Grand Slam titles and five Federer.
And here's the rub. Because if Djokovic is close to the Swiss master, Nadal is even closer. That's what makes this final so huge. Federer, beaten in the fourth round by Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was crushed by Nadal in the semifinals, knows his record of 20 titles is under threat. Nadal, on 17 titles, could even be in the lead this year. Djokovic, a little further out of 14, will have the impression to be able to do so by the end of 2020. It is not surprising that Federer has decided to make his first appearance at the French Open since 2015 this year; there are legacies to protect and legacies remain to leave.
Nadal being Nadal, he says he does not care about all these discussions about history. But do you buy it? Big luck. This final is of great importance to him, especially since there is no guarantee that he can rely on his muscular but fragile body. He missed a lot of tennis because of an injury last year and even started this campaign by withdrawing from Brisbane due to a thigh injury. The time is not on the side of 32 years. His knees could still conspire against him. But if he wins this title for the second time, 10 years after defeating Federer in a thrilling final in five sets, he will go to Roland Garros with 18 titles, with a story at hand.
The only problem is to try to subtract Djokovic's fingers from the trophy. Easier to say than to do.
The game starts at: 8:30 GMT, 7:30 pm in Melbourne.
Source link
