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| French Open 2012 - Djokovic vs. Nadal |
Eleven months is all that separates these two champions in age-terms. There really is nothing to pick in this fourth straight grand slam final between the two. In fact, the last nine meetings between them have all been in finals - which led me to write this blog.
Both men are incidentally just a match away from making history.
Djokovic had laid the genesis of what could turn out to be an unforgettable, history making season by winning the Australian Open back in January. But, even if he fails to match Rod Laver's feat (or perhaps go one up by winning the Olympic Gold), and the Australian Open is to be the zenith of this season, his achievements over the last one-and-a-half years will still go down as one of the greatest feats ever accomplished on the men's tour. And he can take comfort in the fact that after several years of playing in the shadow of Nadal and Federer, he hogged the front pages of newspapers for the right reasons.
As for Nadal, he would definitely like to avoid joining the list of beaten finalists yet again (perhaps he holds the record for the most consecutive defeats to a single opponent in grand slam finals). Right now, only one other player has managed to complete a career grand slam - Andre Agassi. So, that puts Nadal in a very exclusive group - for the time-being at least. He's also chasing an unprecedented seventh French Open title and go one up on the great Björn Borg.
If Djokovic manages to win the the remaining three majors and the Gold, he would be the one and only man in Men's tennis to have ever accomplished such a feat. Incidentally, Steffi Graf is the only player to have pulled off this epic feat.
Djokovic may end up with a leading head-to-head record against the Nadal (14-18) & Federer (12-14) as early as this year-end and the Rock, Paper, Scissors story might be put to rest. This man would then undisputedly be the best of his generation.
But, given the recent outcomes of the clashes between them, and their route to the final, I guess Nadal will prevail - and quite comfortably so. It's going to take a superhuman effort by Djokovic to down Nadal this time.
Who's your pick for Sunday's final? Mention in the comments.
Praveen Rajaretnam
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright of the images. No infringement of copyright was intended and the images are not being used for commercial purposes. The original photographs were edited purely for non-commercial reasons.
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