ARTICLES:
If the Russian beats Novak Djokovic on Sunday and wins this season’s first Grand Slam, he’ll surpass Rafael Nadal and take second place in the ATP ranking.
Nadal has been in the top two best tennis players in the world since June 11, 2017 – 1,350 days – and could displaced by Medvedev if he wins the tournament and takes his ranking points to 685.
Both players are set to play in the Open 500 between March 1 and 7 alongside other top tennis stars.
- ‘Novak Djokovic will never attract the same support as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,’ says analyst | tennishead.net
“People don’t question the severity of your injury for no reason,” said Groth, who is now a top analyst on Australian TV.
“Djokovic has a reputation for being the boy who cried wolf. Federer and Nadal needed a bad guy, and they got Djokovic. Novak Djokovic tries to give an impression he doesn’t care about not being liked, but I’m not convinced that’s true. He will never attract the universal support they (Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) do. Every era needs a villain. And he’s become just that. On the court, Djokovic is nothing short of incredible. He’s on another level, the guy you never want in your draw. But off the court, he has done himself no favours.”
VIDEO: Rafael Nadal Top 10 Plays | Australian Open 2021
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to be honest roger and novak got the advantage of serve and aces so that makes huge difference in big points and big matches on hard courts or indoor courts…and rafa somehow lacks that which makes him more great because w/o this advantage he still got the trophies on all surfaces…if any one remember 2010 hard court season before US open rafa served great and he won all hard court tournament beaten djoker 2 or 3 times on hard court….if rafa could work on serve a more he is definitely sweeping all trophies
I do remember Rafa’s 2010 Season Ashu. For those readers who don’t, perhaps because they are too young, Rafa won 10 Titles that year, including the French Open (for the fifth time), Wimbledon (for the second time) and the US Open (for the first time), beating Djokovic in the Final. He also completed the Career Grand Slam that year and was, of course, year end No.1. A magnificent year by any standards.
However, Djokovic became No.1 the following year, when he also won 10 titles, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It pains me to mention it but he beat Rafa in five finals that year!
When Rafa was asked about his rivalry with Djokovic the following year, he said that Djokovic was extremely tough to play because there were no weaknesses in his game: great forehand, great backhand, great serve, great return, very few unforced errors and moves extremely well and so, very hard to beat. He was also asked if there was one stroke that he would love to have in his armoury, his answer was immediate: Roger’s Serve. It is truly amazing that Rafa has achieved so much against such stiff opposition. I seriously doubt that we will ever witness another era like it.
I do think Rafa’s serve is much improved though and he served really well throughout the AO, despite the fact that he injured his back and was unable to play and practice prior to the event. He was not nearly as ‘match tight’ as his closest rivals at the AO. So, in all the circumstances, I think Rafa performed well.
Let’s hope that his body, particularly his back, allows him to continue to work on his game throughout the season. Rotterdam will be tough for Rafa because the indoor hard courts will do him no favours but he knows that. He will be ready and won’t have to face Medvedev before the final (assuming Djokovic doesn’t play).
2013 season
Both the final and the two semi-finals were rather disappointing 🙁 .
Thank goodness I didn’t watch the final!
Although I’m not a fan of Novak, credit where credit is due. Congratulations to him. He was by far the better player throughout the whole of the match. He stayed calm, putting the balls deep in awkward places and made Medvedev scurry around like the road runner.
I agree that in terms of slams, Rafa’s best chances this year are the French Open and US Open. As for Carlos Moyà, I also feel that it’s increasingly unlikely that he’ll travel outside of Europe due to family reasons, so Rafa has to think outside of his trusted family of Spaniards for ways to elevate his game in particular areas. Alas, he’s a creature of habit and I don’t think he’ll be going down that avenue.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year unfolds. Right now, Novak’s confidence is sky high and he looks like an unstoppable force on hard courts. The only person that can stop him over five sets is an energised Dominic Thiem. So far the “next gen” don’t have the answer and Novak knows it.