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The anticipated final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will happen on Sunday. Over the years, these two players have been the best on red clay. Nadal, otherwise known as the King of Clay, has won eight French Open titles and is looking to win his fifth straight. Djokovic is looking to complete a career grand slam, becoming only the eighth man to do so. He will also take the number one ranking away from Nadal if he wins the title.
Looking at Nadal’s clay court record can be daunting. He has the best win percentage on clay out of active and former players at .934. He has the second most titles on clay in the open era. Nadal is pretty accomplished on this surface, but Djokovic has shown that he is not intimidated. He has beaten Nadal the last four times they have played, including most recently at the Madrid Open. In that match, Djokovic was able to control points from the baseline and attack Nadal’s second serve,which has been slower than normal in this tournament.
Djokovic has made it his priority to win the French Open for a few years now. He knows that he can beat Nadal, even on clay. Even so, beating Nadal at the French Open will require Djokovic to maintain his concentration in order to play at his highest level. In Nadal’s last two matches, he was able to wear his opponents down. David Ferrer admitted that after he lost the second set in their quaterfinal match, that he “threw in the towel” because he knew that he couldn’t win. Andy Murray was overwhelmed by Nadal today and could not get into the match. Djokovic knows that his time is now.
