Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both won two major titles this year. Djokovic won the Australian Open and Wimbledon while Nadal was victorious at the French and US Open. While the Serbian has been number one throughout the year, the Spaniard has a chance to end the year at the position. With only a few tournaments remaining, the race to end the year as number one will go down to the wire.
Nadal and his wrist injury
Nadal and Djokovic will play an exhibition match in Kazakhstan this week. The match will take place on Thursday at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan. The arena has a capacity of around 11,000 spectators. The world No.2 will play for the first time since his participation in the Laver Cup. The Spaniard suffered a wrist injury at the tournament. He was due to play in the Shanghai Masters this month but pulled out due to the injury.
Djokovic stopped by his left shoulder
The Serbian has also missed playing time this year. The Serbian suffered a shoulder injury during a match with Stan Wawrinka at the US Open. He withdrew from the match and did not play for much of September as he recovered from the injury. The world number one returned to action in the Asian swing of the tour. He won the Japan Open and has said his shoulder has not bothered him since his return. However, he still had to test it in the days to come.
Paris and the ATP Finals decisive for the world No.1
With the Paris Masters next week, Rafa and Djokovic will hope they are healthy for the final stretch of the season. Nadal has the advantage over Novak heading into Paris. The Spaniard leads the current world No.1 by 1280 points on the ATP leader’s rankings for the year.
The Serbian also had a poor tournament at the Shanghai Masters. The 32-year-old only gained 180 points after losing in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas. After skipping the Vienna Open and the Swiss Indoors, Djokovic will lose the number one ranking to Rafa after the Paris Masters. He will, however, have a chance to regain the ranking after the ATP Finals.
Despite the opportunity to end the year as number one, Nadal has said that fighting for the position is not his top priority. While he would welcome a return to the top, he has said that his main goal is to play the game for a long time. He has been managing his tournament appearances in recent years in order to stay fit for the Grand Slam tournaments.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 8th of September when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in the final in U.S. Open to win his 84th career title.
This year Nadal has a 47-6 win-loss record. Nadal conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. Rafael was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently ranked no.1, Djokovic played his last match on the 11th of October when he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai.
This year the Serbian has a 48-9 win-loss record. Djokovic clinched 4 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon and in Tokyo. The Serbian was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
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