Who would you favor if Novak and Nadal played at Indian Wells?

I think Djokovic in current form and playing on his favorite surface would take the victory. His serve is back, his forehand in better than it has ever been, his volleys are greatly improved. Nadal looked beatable against Karlovic and not too impressive against Devarmann as well. This assumes of course that the two giants can both win there next match and that djokovic beats both richard gasquet and super Roger a tough ask no doubt. I think this is the matchup everyone wants to see at this point, no disrespect to Roger but Rafa is #1 and Novak is the hottest guy on tour.

I think Novak's two hander and his improved serve will be enough to carry it and I am predicting a scoreline of 6-4 5-7 6-2. Rafa can't rely on out grinding Novak and working over his backhand for errors, Novak handles the high ball real well on the backhand side. This is a great opportunity for Novak to really measure how far he has come. Nadal is clearly the world #1 but would be playing on his least favorite surface and coming off of a bit of an injury.

Could go either way but the form that Novak is in at present might just edge it in his favour.

Yes, sports lover on current form and on his favorite hardcourt is what caused me to give the nod to Djoko in this matchup.

Well ... current form favours Nole but check out the stats between them.

Its taken Nole quite a long time to get round to beating to Federer, and he has to keep doing that whilst improving his results against Rafa. I'm more confident about Rafa winning on this court than I would be in Miami. But I'd love to start seeing more matches between them.

On current form you I would say Nole, as he seems to have breezed through a relatively tough draw, but Rafa does tend to step it up when he needs to. One thing I think is a given, if it does happen, these two will treat us to a great match

I think this is a pre-mature discussion for 2 reasons:
1. Novak has 2 more matches to negotiate the one against Fed being more difficult. As we all now how Roger will be eager to seek revenge against someone who has beaten him in straight sets. Also, we can not completely underestimate Gasquet as he is playing his best tennis at the moment, his down-the line backhand doing quite some damage to his opponents.
2. Then the big if comes. Can Nadal beat Del Potro? I think this will be a close call, considering that, though the H2H reads 4-3 in Nadal's favor, the last 3 meetings have been won by Del Potro. So it is not a given that Nadal is going to sail smoothly to Finals. We all know, Nadal is a big figher, so may as well sneek into the finals.

Many big names like Soderling, Murray, Dog, Raonic, Roddick have all been packed off much before QF in IW so far.
The bottom line is to wait for 24-hours to see if both Nole and Nadal reach finals, then we can renew this discussion

I suppose we're just having a bit of fun speculating, both have very difficult semi-finals.

You mentioned those that have fallen by the wayside, but if it turns out to be a semi-final line up of Rafa/JMDP, Nole/Feds ... what a cracker that would be.

I agree that it is no foregone conclusion that these two guys will meet in the finals. I wouldn't be stunned if Fed knocked out Djoko or if Del Po pulled the upset. However, I think at this point the two favorites to get to the finals would Nole and Nadal.

I think Nole is a different player in the last 3 months. Since the Davis Cup final his serve has been a lot better. Djokovic last year had the worst serve of anyone in the top twenty. And the rest of his game was good enough to get in the top 3. Now with an improved serve he seems to be a different player.

Who cares?! I just wanna watch that match!


PS. Novak, of course, especially if he beats the as easily as he's done it in their previous two encounters...

Green ... in their previous two encounters Rafa has won! :run2:

I'm trying to forget that last encounter... that was so embarrassing!

And the one before that was when Novak was still having some minor problems beating Federer in SFs... This is the new season, the new era... the new Djokovic!

:run2:

No use using a smaller font Green, we saw it

Afternoon boys and girls,

You know...I really envy you Rafa and Nole fans.....you have so much to be excited about.

Wish Andy gave me as many thrills......there are just too many disappointments being a Murray fan......I'm not bitter lol.

Anyway, I see we have another new member, how simply marvellous!

Welcome to the forum socal1976......I hope you enjoy yourself here on v2

Solerina

Cats,

And can you see this: There's no way Nadal's beating Djokovic this time (if Nadal makes it to the final, that is)! Noooo way!?

Green Had to get my magnifying glass out but you can be sure that if they meet and if Rafa wins, I'm going to enlarge that and quote you

Thank you Solerina, i posted on the old 606 as FA and socalfootiefan in the way back. So far I am liking this site. And thank you for the hospitality. As for Andy, don't worry I think he will get that slam and maybe more than one. It will make it all the more sweet when it happens.

Solerina wrote:Afternoon boys and girls,

You know...I really envy you Rafa and Nole fans.....you have so much to be excited about.

Wish Andy gave me as many thrills......there are just too many disappointments being a Murray fan......I'm not bitter lol.

Solerina

Solerina,

Every fan has his day. :-). We Nole fans were at the receiving end, when Murray was beating him in one Masters final after the other, way back in 2009-10. Hope Murray does adjustments to his play and comes back strongly. Then we will have the Big Fab Four on the tour.

socal1976 wrote:Thank you Solerina, i posted on the old 606 as FA and socalfootiefan in the way back. So far I am liking this site. And thank you for the hospitality. As for Andy, don't worry I think he will get that slam and maybe more than one. It will make it all the more sweet when it happens.

Thanks socal : )

Solerina

novak143 wrote:

Solerina,

Every fan has his day. :-). We Nole fans were at the receiving end, when Murray was beating him in one Masters final after the other, way back in 2009-10. Hope Murray does adjustments to his play and comes back strongly. Then we will have the Big Fab Four on the tour.

Thanks novak......the Big Fab Four......I like the sound of that : )

Solerina

Novak143, with Del Po coming around nicely we could have a strong big 5. I think that the way he has played so soon after a one year injury hiatus is most enocuraging. It will make things so interesting, like the late 80s when you had becker, lendl, edberg, wilander, all in the mix at the slams.

My head says one thing says another.

Close call... I like Nole love Rafa..
Nole has all to gain.. Rafa more to lose..
Ive edged my bets Nole´s present form is awesome and he has just got better and better.. but Rafa as we know will give nothing up without a fight...
Nole´s best surface but then Rafa has said he loves that court.

mmmm do I have to put my kneck on the block ok Rafa...... but if he has to lose to anyone let it be Nole.. is that playing both ends to the middle.,.yep I think so :run1: :

Haddie, no shame in being conflicted. It definetly is going to be close call one way or the other. Even if my prediction comes through I think Nadal is too much of fighter to ever count him out.

It's more difficult to answer now that it's actually happening!

Well Im prepared to put my neck on the block... Vamos Rafa

Rafa for me too.......should be a great match

Solerina

Big Novak fan but honestly cant see past Rafa winning this now.

I'm torn

Can BOTH of them win please

It's Novak's turn...

Obviously Rafa for me., but if he has to lose in a final, the devastation would be less if it was against Nole.

This one is a really hard one to call. Rafa really seems to want this title and when he sets his mind to something he usually succeeds. Nole, on the other hand, is riding high after DC and now the added confidence boost of being no. 2.

So, in other words, I don't have a clue and am just really excited at the prospect.

Now that both have reached finals, the time has come to take a side. Well being a Novak fan, I obviously want him to win.

Well, against Nadal it is always a tough task. Unless Nadal loses to someone less fancied in the earlier rounds, he is almost unbeatable once he reaches the finals. Having said that, we cannot discount Novak's chances as he is on his longest winning streak of his career.

It all depends upon the tactics each chooses. Neither can choose to be aggressive as we know that both are very good at defence. Also, Novak knows that the only way to beat Nadal is being aggressive and dominating the play. It all boils down to very few points and at crucial points Nadal is an absolute killer, as he has the best balance of mind as well as the precise shot selection for a given situation.

Like many others here in the forum, I am not able to decide who is going to win this one. It is very tightly poised. But my heart says, this time it is going to be Nole for a change.

As a true fan, we never want to declare openly that our idol is going to win, as we somehow feel it will jeopardize his chances. You may call that being sentimental. This time I have broken lose by predicting. Let's see if it comes true. If it does n't, next time I will keep my mouth shut and stick to my sentiment of not declaring the winner before hand.

Well, in our part of the world(India) the match starts at 1.30 am and I am planning to stay awake and watch the match for the first time while the rest of my countrymen are busy sleeping or celebrating victory over West Indies in World Cup (That again is a bold prediction, as the match is still in progress).

I only pray Nole's serve stays with him today as it did in semi-finals.

Cannot wait for the match to begin...

sportslover wrote:Could go either way but the form that Novak is in at present might just edge it in his favour.

....but I hope it doesn't...he's won far too much recently
I would love Rafa to win this to consolidate his return from injury, cement his number one position and give him the confidence to give us some cracking matches in the next few months

"he's won far too much recently"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe a lot, but not too much!

Besides, he hasn't won a Masters tournament in years (i.e. year and a half)... Rafa will have his clay court season .

Djokovic to go the entire season unbeaten and then retire as calendar slam champion, calendar Masters king, and the richest man alive.

Beyond this he will inevitably take over the world, before fighting off the Martians and expanding his empire across the reaches of the Universe. He will then fight Captain Kirk, win, claim the Starship Enterprise as his own, and conquer the heavens with it.

So all-in-all, it should be an eventful year for Novak.

So no pressure there then !!!

The Martians are coming this year?!!!

BOOOOOOO


:run1:

THIS_IS_THE_NEWS wrote:Djokovic to go the entire season unbeaten and then retire as calendar slam champion, calendar Masters king, and the richest man alive.

Beyond this he will inevitably take over the world, before fighting off the Martians and expanding his empire across the reaches of the Universe. He will then fight Captain Kirk, win, claim the Starship Enterprise as his own, and conquer the heavens with it.

So all-in-all, it should be an eventful year for Novak.

Aye ... but will it make him happy?

Hug an Ewok day would

Not long now peeps !

Good luck and may the best man win! 8)

Look Guys.. my prediction has come true.

The funniest part was that, I did not wake up to watch the match live. I have turned off the alarm at the last moment thinking on these lines:
If I wake up and watch the match and if (a big if at that) Nole loses. I would lose sleep and cannot work in office on Monday morning.

If I do not wake up and still Novak wins, I would have many more matches to watch down the line this year, as that means the rivalry between the best 2 players has well and truly started.

So thinking, I have turned off the alarm and woke up in the morning. I wanted to watch the highlights, but I would be late for work. I am planning to watch it in the evening today. I have puprosely not looked at the scoreline. I know that Nole won in 3 sets. The other day, I watched the re-telecast of IW semi-finals with Roger and I could not enjoy it one bit, as I know when the break would come as I knew the scoreline already.

So today I am keeping my self away from all the articles about Nole's great win, so that I would not get to know anything about how the match transpired. It is like not wanting to read spoilers about a good movie you would love to watch.

Nitb, Socal1976, Green, Sportslover and HaddieNuff(hope you are with us, atleast today).. It is time for us to celebrate. Is it the beginning of a new rivalry that we are witnessing??

And Green, what a prediction: "There's no way Nadal's beating Djokovic this time (if Nadal makes it to the final, that is)! Noooo way!? "

I am just hoping the Ten Sports won't telecast the highlights of the whole tournament in that 2.5 hours time. I want to watch the Finals repeat telecast, please........

Novak

I hope you have had a good day at work by the time you read this
I did watch the match and it was a well deserved win for Nole.
He certainly has a fire in his belly at the moment.
Rafa had more than enough chances.. his serve let him down.. and he played way too defensive.
But I will repeat... contratulations Nole you beat the best in that tournament and no one can ask more of you than that.

Now comes CLAY.....
My money is on the

"And Green, what a prediction"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was just a joke... <blush>

I did expect Novak to win, but I also expected him to play from the start the way he played that 3rd set. He was clearly under a lot of pressure, they both were... But they will feel it less and less with every next final they play! And I'm already looking forward to that! Miami next?

Also, had Nadal managed to level in the 2nd set, and he had a very good chance to do that, I'm not sure Novak would have been the one winning the last point of the match....

"Now comes CLAY.....
My money is on the "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree with you. I just want Novak to beat Nadal once on clay this season... that would be quite enough (for the start )!

I don't think that it is going to be all Rafa & Novak for the rest of the year.

Federer Soderling & Murray to name but a few may have other ideas.

Which is what tennis needs, a duopoly is Ok for fans of the players in question but the vast majority I am sure would prefer an open field.

mmmm OK
I was, as to be expected, very disappointed.. however if Rafa is to lose to anyone who more worthy than Nole.
I genuinely believe that Novak has a lot of respect for the King of Clay and he will treat Rafa accordingly when he next plays him.
It was a very rare occurrence to see Rafa at such odds with himself. His service deserted him when he needed it most and he let that affect the rest of his game.. which is unlike him really he usually can adapt his game but he let Nole dictate the terms half way through that second set until the end. A bad day at the office.. But hey ho as I say .. much time and opportunity for Rafa to reassess and Uncle T will be there in Miami..

I agree with you SL but Im not so sure about Soderling personally.. I think there are those more promising than him. I think the new young guns coming through the ranks are the ones more likely to have other ideas.. I hope for your sake that Murray lives up to your optimistic expectations of him... at the moment he has a lot of work to do. As for Fed... I reserve judgement at this stage But I have said repeately that 2011 will hold a few surprises and Im sure Im right.

Agree H-n as far as Soderling goes ??as for Murray if he wants the big prize he has to get his act sorted out like now.

Del Potro is going to be there at some stage, Federer's match against Novak - he played some excellent tennis and would have probably beaten most other players on that performance so I wouldn't write him off just yet, but doubtful if he will ever be number one again.

As for the others there is some young blood emerging but maybe early days yet!

Rafa had a good start last night and as we all know without a serve (third set) then you are going to struggle but that is usually one of his strong points so no real worry there for the future.

Novak is playing great but all good things must come to an end sometime, question is when?

SL

Yes agree again about Delpo.. he will come good again this year me thinks.
Soderling is like a damp squib Im sorry to say.. looks threatening but never seems to fulfill the expectations of him.
I think little Dolgopolov is going to improve his position along with Harrison and Raonic... its looking good for us tennis fans have to say. But still plenty of life in Rafa and Djoko but as you say they are not going to have it all their own way.
Jury is still out as far as Roger is concerned.. too many errors creeping into his game now.

"Novak is playing great but all good things must come to an end sometime, question is when?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Had he lost yesterday, it would probably be sooner than it's gonna be now...

Can Soderling have yet another good French Open to help maintain his ranking? I'm not so sure, and I've often thought he flatters to deceive. Once again ... who knows what's going to come from Murray. Instead of moping around, he should try to look for the positive. Last year our friend Denzy had a chat with him in Monte Carlo and he said to her ...

The guys just look at the Clay Season as being Rafa's to lose.

Now frankly, I think that's more endemic of him and not the general view, and a very defeatist attitude. So he needs to pull his socks up and look to 2009 where he got to the semi's of MC and took a set off Rafa. He can't afford to flounder in the clay season.

Feds will always be there or there about, but I'm not fully convinced of him. It is Delpo that I have the most interest in watching how his progression goes on the clay, and I like the look of Dolgo.

Rafa's clay prowess goes without saying and Nole has always been pretty good on it. How will the Serbian Open affect him as far as the scheduling goes? I take the point about duopolies which are great for the fans concerned, but Novak has risen to the challenge of late and Rafa has to work hard to maintain his position. Time for the other guys to step up.