Grigor Dimitrov seemed to have a clear short at finally beating Rafael Nadal in Rome.
The Bulgarian was displaying a great tennis and he played just one set in the previous round as Tommy Haas had to retire. On the other side Rafa’s confidence was shaken by not being able to even reach the semis in Barcelona and Monte-Carlo. Winning the tournament in Madrid after being completely dominated in the final by Nishikori (that had to retire) didn’t also help for his “self-esteem”.
Also in Rome Rafa wasn’t convincing at all as he has won all matches in 3 sets without being the “super solid Rafa” we all know.
So going back to the semifinal between Dimitrov and Nadal everything was pointing for a possible upset. That didn’t really happen. The Bulgarian was never in the match to be broken in the very first game of each set. Rafa was completely dominant from the baseline to use the same tactic he uses with Federer (heavy top spins on the single hand back hand). Grigor didn’t really do much as he was passive on baseline without creating much.
The match finished after 1 hour and 22 minutes with Rafa scoring 62 points vs. Dimitrov’s 39. Match Stats.
Nadal: There were a lot of positive things
Rafa commented “I think I started the match in a perfect way, in the second set he made more mistakes than usual. But, talking about myself, I played a solid match and was very good with my backhand. Yesterday I played a great match and today was a good confirmation that I play better, that the forehand starts to fly again, the top spins as well. A lot of positive things.”
The final vs. Djokovic
Nadal will play another final against Novak Djokovic. Head to head is 22-18 for Nadal. 13-3 for the Spaniard on clay
