Nadal Template Victory

You know the story. Nadal plays opponent X. Opponent X stays with Nadal in the first couple of games and might even get a break. Nadal runs him around the court. After game four or five, opponent X is visibly huffing and puffing and starts hitting more unforced errors which leads to a Nadal break. The Spaniard is then off to the races and bags the first set easily. The final set either ends with Nadal cruising with a break to take the set or a very special Nadal beatdown leaving opponent X emotionally scarred.

Today, Nadal played Fernando Gonzalez who has played well over the last two weeks. The story is the same, but Nadal broke in game five and Gonzalez broke back. Nadal struck again in game seven and then won the next two games to take the set.

In the second set, Nadal broke Gonzalez in his first service game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Spaniard then cruised to victory 6-3 6-3 after 75 minutes of play. Nadal will now meet Novak Djokovic in the final.

The victory today marks the Spaniard’s 29th consecutive victory on clay. This is his fifth final of the year. He already has two Masters titles and is going for his third of the year. Nadal is also vying for his fourth Roman championship. He held the title for three-consecutive years until Juan Carlos Ferrero derailed him last year, allowing Djokovic to go on to win the title.

This is Nadal and Djokovic’s second final together this year after their final in Monte Carlo. Nadal is currently 12-4 against Djokovic in their head-to-head match-up and has won their last three meetings. The surface breakdown is 7-0 on clay, 2-0 on grass and 3-4 on hard. Djokovic is looking to defend his title tomorrow and is the first person this year to take a set off of Nadal on clay. It should be an extra contentious battle.

(Image: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)