We are going to witness the 41st match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Rome.
Nadal is now leading Djokovic 22-18 in terms of head to head games and he has an even better record on clay against the Serbian of 13-3, but this time Djokovic might be the favorite.
Rafa’s state
Besides the last match against Grigor Dimitrov, Rafa’s confidence on clay is going down. Both the Spaniard and his opponents know that the King of Clay is not so invincible on the dirt. So even if this week Nadal managed to escape good players such as Simon, Youzhny and Murray, he should have huge problems against a formidable foe such as Novak Djokovic.
Nole’s State
On the other side it seems that the Serbian has completely recovered from his injury to the right wrist after playing a remarkable tennis against Ferrer and Raonic in the quarters and the semis. Nole knows that Rafa is vulnerable and he will go for it.
The 21st final
This will be their 21st final between these 2. Nole leads 11-9. Only in 2011 Djokovic has defeated Nadal in 6 finals!
Nadal has won 7 titles in Rome, Djokovic “only” 2.
