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Melbourne: Rafael Nadal must have been sitting in his hotel room chuckling at the length and sheer physicality of Friday’s epic semi-final. But he would have been far less happy about the eventual result.
Over the past year, Novak Djokovic has become Nadal’s nemesis, with six consecutive victories. When they meet in Sunday’s Australian Open final, Djokovic will start as the favourite to extend that run.
Last year, Nadal simply did not have the ammunition to hurt the best defensive player in tennis. But he has arrived at this Australian Open with a new resolve to come out swinging. At this stage in the tournament he has hit 218 winners to Djokovic’s 219.
If those numbers are anything to go by, Sunday’s match could produce another photo finish. About Sunday’s final, Nadal said, “When I am able to play inside (the court), to play aggressive, I think things are fantastic. (But) I don’t know if it’s going to be enough against Novak.”
Nadal did have an extra day’s rest than Djokovic, whose body will no doubt feel the strain of spending almost five hours on the court against Murray on Friday. Djokovic has also had hay fever in Melbourne this year so his breathing has been laboured over the last couple of rounds.
“There is no secret that it (the final) is going to be physical again. I will do my best to recover. I have a day and a half. I will get my recovery programme under way and hope for the best,” Djokovic said.
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