Tennis News

Come shower or come sun, it’s one of the signs that the English summer is here — but Wimbledon would not be Wimbledon without strawberries, cream, all whites and the UNIQUE SEEDING SYSTEM.

Wimbledon starts in just a few days and all eyes were on the player seedings for this year’s event. The grass court major always works on a different pattern as compared to the other majors/grand slam events where the ATP rankings are directly incorporated to seed the players. The event takes into account the fact that grass as a surface is distinctive as compared with clay and hard courts and aims at making the major as unbiased as possible when it comes to draw.

The seedings for this year’s Championships are as follows:

Men:                                                                Women:

1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)                        1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)                           2 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
3 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)                            3 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)                         4 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)                            5 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN)
6 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)                        6 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
7 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)                              7 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
8 FERRER, David (ESP)                             8 MAKAROVA, Ekaterina (RUS)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)                                 9 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
10 NADAL, Rafael (ESP)                            10 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
11 DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL)                     11 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE)
12 SIMON, Gilles (FRA)                              12 BOUCHARD, Eugenie (CAN)
13 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)                 13 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL)
14 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA)                     14 PETKOVIC, Andrea (GER)
15 LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)                          15 BACSINSZKY, Timea (SUI)
16 GOFFIN, David (BEL)                             16 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA)
17 ISNER, John (USA)                                  17 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR)
18 MONFILS, Gael (FRA)                            18 LISICKI, Sabine (GER)
19 ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP)                      19 ERRANI, Sara (ITA)
20 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP)        20 MUGURUZA, Garbine (ESP)
21 GASQUET, Richard (FRA)                      21 KEYS, Madison (USA)
22 TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)                           22 STOSUR, Samantha (AUS)
23 KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)                            23 AZARENKA, Victoria (BLR)
24 MAYER, Leonardo (ARG)                       24 PENNETTA, Flavia (ITA)
25 SEPPI, Andreas (ITA)                               25 CORNET, Alize (FRA)
26 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS)                             26 KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana (RUS)
27 TOMIC, Bernard (AUS)                           27 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE)
28 CUEVAS, Pablo (URU)                            28 JANKOVIC, Jelena (SRB)
29 GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo (ESP)       29 BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
30 FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA)                            30 BENCIC, Belinda (SUI)
31 SOCK, Jack (USA)                                     31 GIORGI, Camila (ITA)
32 THIEM, Dominic (AUT)                          32 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA)

The ATP rankings dictate the entry into the 3rd major of the year and used as a yardstick for qualifying as usual but the 32 seeds are decided by a proper mathematical formula created for Wimbledon. This unique has created some noteworthy changes for the top seeds in the recent years.

The 2015 Wimbledon seeding formula is as follows:

Total Points = ATP points accumulated by a player in calendar year (till 22nd June’15) + 100 % of Grass court points accumulated by a player in 2014 + 75% of Grass court points in the grass court event where a player has achieved his best result in 2013.

For an outsider, the seeding system put forward by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) does look complex. Predicting the seeds’ is more like the English weather, you really do not know what to expect. These predictions resemble hit-and-miss swings, with more misses than hits. When analysing at how the method could impact the draw, the best thing is to keep an eye out for a player to move up or down the seed groupings as the groups come in fours, 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and so on.

Season after season, there are always major questions asked about the player seedings that ends up raising the critics’ eyebrows resulting in major conflicts. The upshot of this formula was that it was seen as a slap in the face to many clay court specialists who were seeded much lower than their world rankings. As a result, many refused to play at Wimbledon and we were briefly denied seeing some of the best players in the world on our shores. Most significantly, Gustavo Kuerten had become world No.1 at the end of 2000 (and had won Roland in 1997, 2000 and 2001) but he was unhappy that he would be seeded significantly lower than his world ranking and so refused to play at Wimbledon in 2001 and 2002.

Last season, it was Wawrinka would was the biggest victim of the exclusive seeding system as Murray and Federer who were both ranked below him as per the official rankings leapfrogged the Swiss into the prized top 4 positions. In 2013, there was a huge uproar over Nadal’s seeding as he was seeded 5th with Ferrer seeded above him. This had annoyed the Spaniard’s fans and let everyone bemused and infuriated. He had made a strong comeback that season after being out for 7 months. The formula put forward the All England Club makes you realise that the seedings are more or less justified.

This year all eyes were on 2008 and 2010 champion Rafael Nadal seedings. The Spaniard is currently ranked 10th (first time since 2005) after failing to defend his title in Paris (lost to Djokovic in QF). Some expected last year’s Semi-Finalist Grigor Dimitrov to leapfrog Rafa in the seedings (he gained 720 points from making the SF last year + 250 points for winning Queens Club). He was a candidate overtake Nadal for the 10th seed although Rafa was always going to stay between 9 and 12 grouping. Exciting times are ahead as the whole tennis world is awaiting the draw to come out on Friday. Perhaps A NIGHTMARISH DRAW for the Mallorcan Matador awaits.

Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz is a fascinating case. Down at 47th in the ATP Rankings, he can count 75% of his 720 points from his 2013 SF finish. That is a 540 point boost which could have launched him into being seeded for the 2015 championships. However, taking into account his recent poor form, he has been dropped out of the top 32 seeding.

Nick Kyrgios shocked World No.1 Rafa last year in the 4R before bowing out in the QF. The brash Aussie is currently ranked 29th but is seeded at 26.

One major drawback of the seeding system is that only the men are seeded based on the above formula whereas the women are seeded based on the WTA rankings. This is a huge disadvantage for the women as their grass court record and performances at Wimbledon are not taken into account. This biased rule creates quite an imbalance and leaves plenty of room for debates and controversy.

The seeding system of the AELTC can therefore be termed far more transparent for the men as compared to the women. At this point the sport of tennis is making a huge attempt towards ensuring utmost commonality and parity for both its male and female contenders (equal prize money at majors), this ambiguous factor of the All England Club needs to be re-evaluated in the better interests of the sport.

All eyes will be on the DRAW this Friday!!

STATS METER:

•  A simplified form of seeding was introduced in 1924 when up to four representatives of a nation were drawn in the four different quarters of the draw.
•  In 1927 full seeding was carried out and competitors were selected according to ability, irrespective of nationality.
•  Seeding has been based on computer rankings since 1975.
•  Since 1927 only two unseeded players have won the Gentlemen’s Singles – Boris Becker in 1985 and Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 (In 1985 there were only 16 seeds and Becker was ranked 20th; Ivanišević was ranked 125th when he won as a Wild Card entrant). In 1996, the title was won by Richard Krajicek, who was originally unseeded (ranked 17th, and only 16 players were seeded) but was promoted to a seeded position (still with the number 17) when Thomas Muster withdrew before the tournament.
•  No unseeded player has won the Ladies’ Singles. No unseeded player has captured the Ladies’ Singles title; the lowest seeded female champion was Venus Williams, who won in 2007 as the 23rd seed; Williams was returning from an injury that had prevented her playing in previous tournaments, giving her a lower ranking than she would normally have had.
•  Eleven unseeded players have reached the final of the Gentlemen’s Singles and four unseeded players have reached the final of the Ladies’ Singles. Mark Philippoussis was the last unseeded men’s finalist (2003; lost to Federer); Billie-Jean Moffitt was the last unseeded ladies’ finalist (1963; lost to Margaret Court-Smith).
•  Today there are 32 seeds in Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles.

The 14th edition of The Boodles exhibition event is set to begin Tuesday, June 23 and will feature a star-studded line-up of some of the world’s top male tennis players. Atop the roster for the 2015 edition is world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is yet to step out on court for a professional grass court contest this season.

In a last minute addition to the event, former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will also take part in the pre-Wimbledon exhibition event as he continues to work his way back to formidable form.

“We are delighted to have received the phone call from Rafa which just adds to an already excellent line-up. We are happy to do whatever we can to help Rafa finalise his Wimbledon preparations here at The Boodles 2015.” said Tournament Director and Founder Patricio Apey.

After losing just his second match ever at the French Open this year to be denied a 10th title at Roland Garros, Nadal fought valiantly all week in his first grass court tournament of the season Stuttgart to claim the title following a straight sets victory against Victor Troicki. He won the match 7-6(3), 6-3 to earn his first title on grass since the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. However, he followed that up with a opening round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Aegon Championships, which is likely why he is keen to get a few more matches in before Wimbledon, where he will be seeeded 10th this season.

Along with Djokovic and Nadal, both of whom are former Wimbledon champions, the tournament will also feature former Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet and John Isner, as well as exciting youngsters Jack Sock, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alexander Zverev.

The Boodles 2015 takes place from Tuesday 23rd – Saturday 27th June at Stoke Park.

The full player line-up for The Boodles 2015 is:

Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal
Richard Gasquet
John Isner
Milos Raonic
Tommy Robredo
Fernando Verdasco
Jack Sock
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Alexander Zverev
Lucas Pouille
Fabio Fognini
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Robin Haase
Jerzy Janowicz
Kevin Anderson
Janko Tipsarevic
Lukas Rosol
Mischa Zverev
Goran Ivanesevic
Cedric Pioline

Order of Play for Tuesday 23rd June – first match 12.30pm:

12.30pm
Janko Tipsarevic v Lucas Pouille
2.30pm
Jack Sock v Philipp Kohlschreiber
followed by
John Isner v Thanasi Kokkinakis
not before 5pm
Lukas Rosol v Kevin Anderson

Rafael Nadal poses on the Winner’s Car with the Mercedes Cup trophy

Rafael Nadal has not always been at ease on a grass court but managed to win his first grass-court title since 2010 by lifting the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Bouncing back from his French Open disappointment, the top seeded Spaniard triumphed 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in just under an hour and a half, winning the $118,000 first prize.

It was his 66th ATP Tour title & 4th title on grass, but just his second in a year where the former world No. 1 has dropped to 10th in the rankings. He won Wimbledon for the second time in 2010 and lost for the third time in a final there the subsequent year, but has not gone passed fourth round since.

While most of the top men’s players took a pause after Roland Garros, the 29-year-old went straight back into the fray at the German tournament which he won in 2005 and 2007 — this season it switched from clay to a grass surface and moved to after the French grand slam. After winning in Stuttgart, Nadal headed to Britain for the Queen’s Club Championships (Aegon Championships) in London, the event which Nadal won in 2008 before beating Federer at Wimbledon in perhaps Tennis’ greatest battle. He was ousted in the 1R by Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov (ranked 79th), losing 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 in two hours and 13 minutes in front of an audience that included José Mourinho and the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos.

Nadal’s fall from the pinnacle of the game has been at a ferocious pace. With just 2 titles and no Grand Slam finals to show-off this season, the Spaniard has looked more vulnerable and susceptible to embarrassing losses.

Apart from his physical struggles and injury-plagued career, his on-court form in 2015 has been far less steady than what we are used to. He lost half-dozen matches on his beloved clay this season and went 21-6 on the red dirt this year. Compare that with 292-14 record from 2005-2014, this yardstick comparison clearly illustrates that “RAFA is STRUGGLING in 2015”.

Indifferent form this year

After being stripped of his French Open crown and losing only for the second time in 72 matches in Paris, Nadal has plummeted to 10th in the ATP rankings, the first time his rank is a 2-digit number since 2005. Nadal will try to use grass as a catalyst in his quest to regain his lost mojo. His performance over the next month on the lawns will decide whether he can come back from such a situation.

Rafa after winning the epic 2008 Wimbledon Final defeating Federer

Grass has perennially been Rafa’s Achilles heel over his entire career taking a huge toll on his knees. In 2006, Nadal made it to his 1st non-clay major final in Wimbledon losing to rival Roger Federer in 4 sets. A year later, he lost a 5 setter to Federer in the Wimbledon Final but did take confidence from the fact that he managed to push the 5-time Champion to a deciding set. Then his moment arrived in 2008.

After winning Queens Club, he managed to hold off Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon Final in arguably the greatest match of all-time. Although he had to withdraw from the 2009 Championships because of tendinitis in both of his knees, he came back in 2010 to win his second title at the All-England Club before losing to Serb Novak Djokovic in the 2011 finals. Ever since his final loss in 2011, he is just 5-5 on the lawns (before last week’s Mercedes Cup) which includes 3 bamboozling losses at the All England Club.

Nadal’s woes on grass

In 2012, after winning a record 7th Roland Garros title, he lost to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in Halle which served as a bad warning for Wimbledon. In Wimbledon, he was shocked by unheralded Czech Lukas Rosol, a player ranked 100th in the world then. This turned out to one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history and was the first time since the Wimbledon 2005 championships that Nadal had failed to progress past the 2nd round of a Grand Slam tournament.

This was the beginning of his miseries on grass. The following year, he skipped the grass court tune-up events and suffered another shocking loss to Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked 135th) in the first round at Wimbledon 2013. This was his 1st ever loss in the opening round of a Major.

His struggles continued in 2014, as he lost his 3rd consecutive match on the surface to heavy-hitting German Dustin Brown in his opening match at Halle. Although he survived four-set battles in each of the first three rounds, his 2014 Wimbledon run came to an unforeseen end against big-hitting Aussie teenager Nick Kyrgios (Nadal was World No.1 and Kyrgios was ranked 143 places below him). The most bewildering element of those results was he lost to low-ranked, unheralded players who were supposedly way below his league.

Rosol and Nadal walk off the court after Rosol shocked Nadal in 2012 Wimbledon

A tough transition from clay

Nadal who began his career as a clay-court specialist managed to scale the lawns of Wimbledon by defeating Federer in 2008’s fiesta. He was being compared to Swede legend Bjorn Borg after completing his 2nd Channel Slam in 2010 (Borg won 3 consecutive Channel Slams 1978-1980). After making the final every time he entered between 2006 & 2011, he’s struggling to even to make it to 2nd week now.

The switch from clay to grass is possibly the most difficult transition in tennis and even more laborious for Nadal. He’s forced to sacrifice his fierce defensive skills to a more subtle approach and better footwork. He loses the punch in his top-spin shots on the low-bouncing turf and allows big hitters to hit more aggressively. When the lawns are still lush green at the start of Wimbledon, Nadal’s the most susceptible.

The courts operate at a ferocious pace, and the ball skids more because of the slipperiness, making offensive-minded opponents even more dangerous against him. The only way he can end his recent lull on grass is to make it to the 2nd week at Wimbledon as the baseline grass is chewed off to dust and plays relatively slower giving Nadal more time to pace his game.

Don’t discount Rafa’s chances

With his victory in Stuttgart, Nadal’s looking to build the lost momentum on the surface. He’ll need to be extremely focussed and sharp once Wimbledon kicks off. Due to his tumble in rankings and Wimbledon’s unique seeding system, Nadal will possibly have to go through Stan, Andy, Roger and Novak to lift a 3rd Wimbledon title. “A NIGHTMARISH DRAW awaits perhaps”.

Nadal is undoubtedly at a crossroads in his professional career and is finally succumbing to the inevitable aging progression – an undisputed force which even the great RAFA will not conquer.

Yet people cannot write him off. The Mallorcan Matador is one of the fiercest competitors sport has ever seen. These defeats and painful losses will only fuel him to practice harder and prove all his detractors wrong.

A strong performance at Wimbledon may just be the perfect medicine to cure his recent infirmities and reignite his already historic career.

VAMOS RAFA

For the eighth time in his professional career, Roger Federer is a champion at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.

The 17-time grand slam champion lifted his latest title on the grass courts in Halle following a straight sets win against Andreas Seppi. He beat the Italian 7-6,6-4 in an encounter that lasted an hour and 48 minutes.

“I think that I did very well here in the tie-breaks,” said Federer. “I served well which you have to on the grass. I was able to mix it up, so I created a good pattern going into the tie-break. My opponent wouldn’t quite know where it’s going to go and if he knew where it was going to go it was going to be tough for him to defend. I think I did a really nice job this week on these situations.

“I think one big secret on grass is when to hit which shot and playing the score the right way. You might be playing perfect but then in one moment you take a bad decision and grass makes you pay for it all. So, this week has been great if I look at the whole thing. I don’t think I got broken anymore the last four matches I played. The first match was extremely close but I won all the tie-breaks this week, which gives obviously big confidence knowing that in the crucial moments my game was right there.”

It is an important win for Federer, who’s 51st win in Halle made him the the third player in the Open Era to claim at least eight titles in a single tournament, alongside Rafael Nadal and Guillermo Vilas. Nadal holds nine titles at  Roland Garros.

Federer, who has now won 86 titles on the tour, pocketed €381,760 and 500 Emirates ATP Ranking points.

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Back in 2013, Andy Murray kicked off a historic grass court season with a title win at the Aegon Championships. He would go on to become the first British male singles winner at the Wimbledon Championships in over seven decades. Now, two years later, Murray has won yet another title at Queen’s Club and has his sights set on a second Wimbledon crown.

Not only does it appear as though history is on course to repeat itself, but Murray himself has added fuel to the fire by stating that he feels he is better prepared this season than back in 2013.

“I feel I have improved. Physically I’m definitely in a better place than I was then, when I was having problems with my back – not so much on the grass but on the other surfaces.”

“I feel I’m using my variety very well now, something that maybe I wasn’t the past couple of years. [I have] more experience, more matches. There are a few things I’m doing a little bit better.”

For Murray, his continuous growth was to be expected, as a player cannot remain competitive if he stagnates during his peak years. If you don’t evolve, someone else will come around and usurp your spot.

“You just have to improve, otherwise I wouldn’t still be in the same position,” Murray said. “I was ranked [No. 2 in the world] around that time and I’m still there now

“Sport and life, everything moves on. If you don’t get better, there are people who will take your spot.”

The 2015 Wimbledon Championships begins on Monday, June 29 at the All England Club.

Andy Murray continued his remarkable return to form on Sunday afternoon at the Aegon Championships when he won back-to-back matches on the same day to claim his fourth title at Queen’s Club.

It was no easy task for the Scotsman, as he was forced to contest nearly two full matches on the same day en route to the title. However, he appeared to have played himself into form on Sunday, as his final against Kevin Anderson was easily his best contest of the week.

Murray managed a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Troicki in the semi-final before he stepped back on court a few hours later to defeat Anderson 6-3, 6-4.

“I served extremely well,” said Murray. “I wasn’t expecting to have loads of opportunities with the way he had been serving this week and the way the courts were playing, so thankfully when the [break point] chances came, I managed to come up with some kind of instinctive shots and guess the right way on a couple of shots, and managed to get the breaks.

“I felt like once I got into the rallies I was doing really well, but it was obviously tough to do that some of the times. He served an extremely high percentage of first serves and was serving big. But it was a good performance.”

Murray is now 34-16 in ATP World Tour finals and pocketed €381,760 and 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points for his efforts on Sunday.

Following up on her impressive clay court run recently, Angelique Kerber survived a rollercoaster affair against Karolina Pliskova to lift the Aegon Classic Birmingham title.

Seeded fourth at this year’s event, Kerber was forced to rally her way out of trouble several times during the match. After dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, Krber rallied back to snatch the second set and go up 5-3 in the third. It was here that she allowed her Czech adversary back into the match to lead 6-5. It was only during the decisive tiebreak that Kerber actually stormed to victory on the heels of three straight points. She closed out the match 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4).

“Karolina is a great player,” Kerber said. “She served unbelievably well in the important moments, and she was hitting the balls so close to the lines. I had no chance in the big moments in the first set.

“But I just kept fighting point by point, and it’s just an unbelievable feeling to win today.”

Kerber has now won her third Premier-level title of the season following consecutive wins in Charleston and Stuttgart. Serena Williams is the only player who has done better this season. This should give Kerber some confidence ahead of the Wimbledon Championships.

“This gives me a lot of confidence,” she said. “My goal coming to Birmingham was to get a lot of matches, and now I had my fifth of the week, so it couldn’t be better preparation before Wimbledon. I’ll just enjoy the day today, and we’ll see what comes next, and we’ll see what happens there.”

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Just a few days following her first proper tennis match in 17 months, Laura Robson has been awarded a wild card entry into the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.

According to the BBC, Robson was given a wild card into the Championships after not being included in the first set of wild cards announced last week.

The former British No. 1 was forced onto the sidelines in January with a left wrist injury and watched her hard work and ranking deteriorate whilst other competitors rose to prominence over the year. Having not played tennis since her first round loss to Kirsten Flipkens in the opening round of the Australian Open, Robson returned to court last week at the Eastbourne qualifying tournament, where she lost to one of the tour’s rising competitors Daria Gavrilova.

Robson reached a career-high of No. 27 on the tour and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon Championships, as well as the third rounds of the Australian Open the French Open and the U.S. Open. However, since her absence from the tour, she has dropped from No. 27 to No. 916.

The qualifying round at the All England Club begins this week, while the main draw begins Monday, June 29.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal pose for the cameras before their clash at the 2012 Australian Open final

India vs Pakistan, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Lin Dan vs Lee Chong Wei, Senna vs Prost, Frazier vs Ali, Lakers vs Celtics, Red Sox vs Yankees and then there is Nadal vs Djokovic.

These are arguably some of the best rivalries that sport has ever witnessed and ardent fans have felt the pressure of these match-ups. When it comes to modern day tennis, perhaps the Rafa-Novak rivalry stands out as the distinct representative match-up that tennis fans all over the planet want to see.

The 44th installment of their celebrated rivalry was played in the QF of the French Open 2015 with too much on stake. Ironically, 43 matches ago they met for the first time in the QFs of the 2006 French Open. Since then, the two gladiators have met in numerous encounters redefining tennis as a war of skill, fortitude, physical brutality and mental toughness. Djokovic was finally able to shake the monkey off his back as he thwarted Nadal in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. It was Nadal’s second defeat in 72 matches in Paris and his record now stands at 93-2 in best-of-5 set matches on clay.

Although the match-up on Wednesday did not live upto everyone’s expectation, here is a look at 5 unforgettable matches in the Rafa-Nole rivalry that have not only gone onto outline their individual careers but also rewritten the history books of Tennis.

2008 Masters Series Hamburg SF – Nadal def. Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 

Coming into the match: Djokovic has stunned the tennis world by winning his 1st Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open defeating defending champion and World No.1 Federer in the SFs and getting the better of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the finals. He had also won 2 Masters titles coming into this match, Indian Wells & Rome Masters. He was the in-form player coming into the Hamburg Masters.

Nadal has also made a steady start to the season reaching the SFs in Melbourne (l. to Tsonga), reaching the finals in Miami (l. to Davydenko). During the clay-court season, Nadal had won Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona. Prior to this match, Djokovic had won their only meeting of the season in the SFs of the Indian Wells Masters (6-3, 6-2). Nadal was leading the head-to-head 6-3 till date. The World No. 2 ranking was on the line in this match.

The Battle:

Rafael Nadal came out on top in the battle for the No. 2 position in the ATP Rankings with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Novak Djokovic in a colossal battle which lasted over three hours and three minutes. It was the greatest match of their rivalry to date. In a first set featuring five breaks of serve under the roof on Centre Court at Rothenbaum, Djokovic began in scorching form, breaking Nadal early to lead 3-0. Nadal come back roaring to level the match at 3-3.

Nadal seemed to have got the better of Novak and the Spaniard broke back again to lead 5-4. With Nadal serving for the first set, Djokovic began to go for his shots and again leveled the match at 5-5. Nadal started to produce exceptional tennis and again broke Djokovic for a 6-5 lead. This time he did not falter and took the opening set which lasted 72 minutes. Djokovic was much more aggressive in the second set and was able to edge out a break of serve to lead 3-2. With Nadal serving to stay in the set at 2-5, Novak’s baseline intimidation finally got the better of Rafa as he surrendered the set to the Serb. Djokovic’s momentum was short-lived as Rafa pounced back and immediately earned a break of serve to lead 1-0. Djokovic’s hopes began to dissolve and Rafa seized the opportunity to win the match after converting on his 5th match point and thus holding onto the No.2 ranking.

Reverberation: Nadal went on to avenge his 2007 Hamburg Masters defeat to Roger Federer in the final (Federer had ended his record 81-match win streak on clay in 2007). Furthermore Nadal went to win both French Open & Wimbledon (first man to win the Channel Slam since Bjorn Borg in 1980) and capped off his greatest summer till date by winning the Olympic Gold in Beijing. Nadal also enjoyed a 32-match win streak in 2008 starting in Hamburg, which is longest winning streak across 3 surfaces in the Open-Era. Djokovic also managed to have a solid season and finished the season by winning his 1st Masters Cup/ATP World Tour Finals.

Honorable mention: A year later the two met in the SFs of the Madrid Masters. It was a melodramatic battle which Rafa managed to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) after saving 3 match points. This match had held the record for the longest best-of-3 sets match in the Open-Era at 4 hrs and 3 minutes until the record was bettered by the 4hr and 26 min marathon between Federer and Del Potro in the SFs of the London Olympics in 2012

2010 US Open Final – Nadal def. Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

Coming into the match: Nadal was perhaps playing the best tennis of his career having being undefeated on clay (22-0) winning Monte Carlo, Rome & Madrid Masters. He went on regain the World No.1 ranking from Federer after winning Roland Garros for a 5th time before becoming only the 2nd man after Bjorn Borg to win multiple Channel Slams. He entered the US Open trying to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Djokovic had struggled this season winning only 1 title (Dubai) and lost his No.2 ranking. He had also ceased his partnership with coach Todd Martin who had tried to change Novak’s Service motion. He had beaten Roger Federer in the SFs after saving 2 Match Points. Nadal was on a 3 match losing streak against Djokovic going into this match.

The Battle:

World No.1 Rafa Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 and became the 7th man to complete the career Grand Slam (youngest to accomplish the feat in the Open Era at 24 years old). He also became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win 3 straight Grand Slam events in the same season. Though rain delayed their meeting by a day, Nadal made a confident start to the championship match Monday as he broke Djokovic.

Though the Serbian drew level at 2-2, Nadal regained the lead as he converted on his sixth break point opportunity of the next game. The pair was locked at 4-4, 30/30, in the second set when rain suspended play for one hour and 57 minutes. When they returned, Djokovic broke the Spaniard for a third time to force a set off of Nadal for the first time during the 2010 US Open.

Djokovic was unable to maintain the momentum, however, with Nadal continually putting pressure on his serve. The top seed created 16 break point chances through the final two sets and converted on three of them (6 for 26 during the match). He claimed the victory as his opponent’s return sailed wide on championship point after three hours and 43 minutes.

Reverberation: Nadal went on to clinch the Year End No.1 for the 2nd time in his career and enjoyed arguably his greatest season (71-10; 7 titles). But on the other hand, it was the start of Djokovic’s ascendance to the top of Men’s’ Tennis as went on to win his 1st Davis Cup title with Serbia and would start one of the most impressive winning streaks in the Open-Era (43 matches unbeaten run).

2011 Wimbledon Final – Djokovic def. Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3

Coming into the match: Djokovic was perhaps producing the greatest season in the Open-Era. He had won the Australian Open and 4 Masters Titles (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome). He was 47-1 coming into the finals of Wimbledon. Federer has defeated him in the SFs of Roland Garros to hand Novak his only loss of the season and end his 43 match unbeaten run. Djokovic had taken over the No.1 spot in the rankings after beating Tsonga in the SFs of Wimbledon.

Nadal had made a relatively tough start to the season. At the Australian Open, he was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all the 4 Grand Slams, but lost to David Ferrer in the QFs (apparent hamstring injury). Although Nadal did manage to win his 6th French Open (also won Monte Carlo & Barcelona), he had struggled against the Serb losing 4 consecutive finals.

The Battle:

The current World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 titlist met the soon-to-be No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. For two sets, Djokovic was superb hitting 22 winners past Nadal, who was unable to hit top form in lengthy baseline rallies. But Nadal hasn’t won 20 straight matches at the All England Club for nothing. The top seed battled back to win the third set to raise hopes of a first two-sets-to-love comeback in a Wimbledon final since 1927, when Henri Cochet defeated Bill Tilden.

Both players exchanged breaks of serve at the start of the fourth set, before Djokovic regained control to complete a 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory in two hours and 28 minutes of play to lift his third Grand Slam championship title. It capped a dream fortnight for the Serbian, who became the World No.1 after Wimbledon.

Reverberation: Djokovic finished off one of the Open Era’s greatest calendar season (70-6) by winning the US Open defeating Nadal in the final. He bulldozed the Spaniard in the entire season beating him in 6 consecutive finals. Nadal meanwhile had no answers to Djokovic’s onslaught even though he managed to win his 4th Davis Cup title with Spain.

2012 Australian Open Final – Djokovic d. Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5

Coming into the match: Djokovic was at the pinnacle of the ATP rankings as he entered the Australian Open in 2012. He had won the last 6 encounters against the Spaniard. Djokovic entered the match after winning a brutal SF against Scot Andy Murray in 4hrs and 50 min. Nadal was trying to get back in this rivalry and had gained some momentum after winning his 4th Davis Cup. He was through to his 2nd Australian Open Final after beating old nemesis Roger Federer in the SF.

The Battle:

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to seven straight matches over No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam championship final on record over five hours and 53 minutes. It surpassed the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes when Mats Wilander defeated Ivan Lendl at the 1988 US Open. In a pulsating contest on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Djokovic rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the fifth set, to fight back and claim a dramatic victory. He continued to narrow the gap in his head-to-head against Rafa to 14-16. Nadal had never previously lost a Grand Slam final after winning the first set.

Reverberation: Though Djokovic managed to win the final, Nadal actually began to neutralize this rivalry and got back against the Serb. The Mallorcan Matador managed to win 6 of the next 7 matches against his arch-rival.

2013 US Open Final – Nadal def. Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

Coming into the match: Nadal was making a historic comeback in 2013 after an injury plagued 2012. He had won 9 titles (including his 8th French Open and also the Canada-Cincinnati double). He had lost just 3 matches all season and was attempting to win his 2nd US Open title.

Djokovic had won his 3rd straight Australian Open title (4th overall) but lost out in the SFs of the French Open to Nadal. He lost to Andy Murray in the finals of Wimbledon thus losing 4 of the last 5 GS Finals he had contested. He had also lost last 5 of the 6 meetings against Nadal.

The Battle:

In their third US Open final meeting (also 2010-11) and an Open Era record 37th meeting, Nadal exerted the early pressure, but it was Djokovic who turned the tables in the sixth game of the second set. The intensity rose early in the third set, as Djokovic broke Nadal in the third game only for Nadal to bounce back for 3-3 and ultimately break once again. Nadal stretched his lead to 3-0 in the fourth set and by the time he celebrated his 13th major crown, Djokovic had committed 53 unforced errors.

Spaniard dominated the extended rallies of five shots or more, winning 64 of 111 such points. The World No. 2 was lethal in the return game as well, converting on seven of 12 break point chances. Queen Sofia of Spain congratulated Nadal in the locker room after winning his second US Open crown.

Reverberation: Nadal regained the World No.1 ranking from Djokovic and went on to win 35+ matches on both Hard and Clay in the season (only player in the Open Era to achieve this). Djokovic had lost the last 5 Grand Slam finals out of the 6 he had contested. The Serb went on to reverse the losing streak against the Spaniard beating him 4 more times before losing in the 2014 French Open Finals. He also added German tennis legend Boris Becker to his coaching staff.

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