02. 05. 2009. ·
Two weeks after their spectacular sixteenth match, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are in the main roles of the 17th episode of the great rivalry of the grand sport.
The two at the moment best players on clay continue to perform the games of their lives, and are almost regular participants of Sunday finals.
They showed us all the charms of tennis in the final match of Monte Carlo Masters on April 19. The spectators enjoyed every point, but unfortunately only one player could lift the winner’s trophy. Clay court specialist Rafael Nadal won the last three matches against the Serbian tennis player.
Their H2H is 12-4 in Nadal’s favour, but Novak is playing great on clay this season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he clinched the historic victory ahead of Serbia Open – the first tournament in Serbia ever, in his hometown.
Here are the players’ facts:
Here’s what the finalists said ahead of Sunday’s match:
- There’s not much to say about Rafa, especially on clay. He’s going to be absolute favorite to win it again, but I have my chances, especially after the great performance in Monte Carlo. I have no reason not to believe that I can win. I won a set against him in Monte Carlo, I played really good to start the third set, and learned that I have to really play every point against him and just wait for the chances – said Novak after his semifinal match against Federer.
- I know tomorrow is going to be a really tough match, and I will have to be playing at 100% to have a good chance to win. The important thing is – don’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s going to play aggressive because it’s his game. I’m going to try to play aggressive too. I have to play aggressive with my forehand and try to have control of the point with my forehand. If I don’t do that, it’s going be really difficult, because if he is attacking me it’s really tough to play against Novak – said Rafa at the press conference after his win over Fernando Gonzalez.
The great final is scheduled on Sunday at 4pm.
