ARTICLES:

• Why Rafa will beat Novak? (via Roland Garros)

• Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal set for French Open meeting (via BBC)

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller: “Rafa Nadal against Novak Djokovic must be the most eagerly anticipated Grand Slam quarter-final in history. Nadal has 70 French Open wins to fall back on, and Djokovic an unbeaten run at Grand Slam or Masters level which stretches all the way back to October.” … How Nadal can beat Djokovic? 1. Finish to the forehand: Nadal lost the opening set in 2014 overplaying the Serb’s backhand, resulting in only four forehand winners. In set two, he finished with 85 % of forehand winners squarely directed at Djokovic’s forehand side…

• Despite down year, Roland Garros rejuvenating the King of Clay (via ESPN)

No doubt, Nadal would have preferred to be the one carrying a 26-match winning streak into this event. But the way things worked out, he has managed to transfer all the pressure to Djokovic. The world No. 1 also knows he’s been just another vassal working in the King’s fief at Roland Garros. He’s 0-6 against Nadal at Roland Garros — and that includes two finals.

• Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal clash highlights Day 11 French Open lineup (via SI.com)

After a cool and wet start to the tournament the weather is supposed to warm as the week progresses in Paris. Asked how the conditions might affect the match, Nadal kept it very simple. “The hotter it is, the better it is for me.”

• Novak & Rafa: The Rivalry (via ATP World Tour)
• By the numbers: Novak Djokovic versus Rafael Nadal (via ESPN)
• Spanish Inquisition: What’s at stake for Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals (via tennis.com)

This quarterfinal may not be the biggest match in Nadal’s career—he became a new kind of champion by winning the iconic 2008 Wimbledon final—but it may be the most important match he’s played since. … This quarterfinal means everything to Djokovic, but it means plenty to Nadal, as well.

• 6 reasons to watch Nadal-Djokovic play the biggest quarterfinal in tennis history (via USA Today)

Nadal is 70-1 at the French Open and 93-1 in best-of-five-set matches on clay: No one will ever approach such numbers again. Even Federer, when he was in his prime, which is generally accepted as the greatest run of tennis in history, didn’t have stretches of 93-1. Oh, and if you’re wondering where those other 23 best-of-five matches came from, most were Davis Cup, but others were in finals of top-tier events before almost every tournament switched to a best-of-three format throughout.

• Coming Down the Backstretch (via tennis.com)

Djokovic is the best right now; we haven’t forgotten that. Rafa loves these courts better than any others; we’ve been reminded of that. This will be fun. We knew that.

• Courier on Rafa’s Time Violations: Umpires Have to Stop Doing This (via Tennis Now)

“They have to stop doing this,” said Courier. “They have to stop hitting him with warnings on big points, because he’s consistently over 20 seconds virtually every point he serves. Either he needs to speed up or they need to get him earlier in the match on meaningless points, but to do it on break points is maddening to me.” The ITF, which mandates the Grand Slams, allows for 20 seconds between points, rather than the 25 that the ATP uses. “There’s nothing that Nadal is doing that is gamesmanship,” said Courier. “He’s just getting ready for a huge point. He takes too much time, we know this.”

• Toni Nadal on His Love of Paris (via Roland Garros)

When was the first time you came to the French Open? “In 2005, with Rafael. We should have come in 2004, but Rafael injured his ankle before the tournament (editor’s note: Nadal got a stress fracture in Estoril). Wait, it was in 2003 that we should have come, but the night before we were supposed to leave, he fell over (editor’s note: injuring his elbow). I remember 2005 very well. We had high hopes because Rafael had won a lot of matches on clay. He’d won at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, so he was one of the favourites, along with Roger Federer, of course. I remember when we got the draw and saw that he’d probably face Richard Gasquet in the third round. We thought, “Uh oh, we have a problem”. Because Gasquet almost beat Rafael at the semis in Monte Carlo (editor’s note: Nadal won 6-7, 6-4, 6-3). So we knew it would be complicated.”

• Tennis Tuesday: RG 2015 – The Best And Worst So Far

VIDEOS:

• What you missed behind the locker room door? (via Roland Garros)
• Choosing sides: Djokovic vs. Nadal (via ESPN)
• IB3 Documentary Promo: Rafael Nadal – 10 Years Of A Legend
• Centro Educativo Anantapur (via Rafa Nadal Foundation)
• Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal look ahead to French Open clash (via The Guardian)
• Rafael Nadal survives Jack Sock scare (via Eurosport)

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