Two living legends of the sport of tennis will do battle for the first Grand Slam title of 2019 on Sunday when Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open inside the Rod Laver Arena out in Melbourne Park.
There has been an air of inevitability about these two meeting in the final for much of the second week of the competition, and the conclusion to the tournament promises to be an amazing occasion as a couple of all-time greats collide.
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Novak Djokovic
Over the turn of the first week into the second week there were one or two signs that Novak Djokovic might just have been feeling the pinch a little bit as he was taken to four sets by a couple of young bucks but he has breezed through the second week of the tournament. Kei Nishikori withdrew after an hour in their quarter final and Lucas Pouille didn’t keep the Serbian hanging around much longer.
Djokovic goes in search of a third successive Grand Slam in this final having landed the Wimbledon and US Open titles in the second part of 2018. If he wins this match all eyes will then turn to the French Open to see if he can hold all four major titles at the same time. He is probably going to need to produce his best performance of the competition to come through here, but I guess he would expect to have to do that in a final.
Rafael Nadal
The Spanish superstar has made it into this final without dropping a set to date and although his detractors could argue that Stefanos Tsitsipas is the only man inside the top 25 of the world rankings that he has faced this week, it hasn’t been about who he has beaten, it has been how he has come past them, and he has done that incredibly impressively.
The way he took Tsitsipas apart was the most eye catching of all and although the Greek might have been overawed by the occasion slightly, there was a ruthlessness about Nadal that suggests he fancies the job in this tournament. Such has been the dominance of Nadal in this event, he has only gone past 10 games in two of the 18 sets he has played in the competition.
Head to Head
These two have met on a crazy 52 occasions in the past with their most recent meeting being that amazing Wimbledon semi-final which Djokovic won 10-8 in a pulsating fifth set. That took his overall lead in their career battles to 27-25 but it is an even bigger dominance on a hard court. Djokovic leads 18-7 on a hard court and has won their last seven battles on the surface. You have to go back to the 2013 US Open final for the last time the Spaniard has come out on top on a hard court. Nadal has the edge in Grand Slam finals between the pair. He has four wins to three for the Serbian.
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Betting
I think Novak Djokovic wins this. I think the final comes at a good time for him whereas Nadal is just slightly past his best on a hard court. I don’t think Djokovic wins without a fight by any means but his defence is just absolutely insane and in what I’m really hoping is a truly terrific final, ultimately the better legs and composure of the Serbian can be the difference in this match.
While I’ll back Djokovic to come through here I’m more than happy to get involved in over 40.5 games. This one is hugely unlikely to be won in straight sets, and in fact it is more likely to be a marathon rather than a sprint. Sets will be closely fought and neither man will give in without a fight. Over 40.5 games looks extremely likely to me.
Tips
WON – Back N.Djokovic to beat R.Nadal for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Betway
Back him here:
Back Over 40.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Coral
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