Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are trying to decide about their schedule when tennis resumes. 5 major tournaments are scheduled to be played back to back and in extremely different conditions starting from the middle of August. After Cincinnati (that will be staged in New York), tennis players are meant to compete at the Us Open, Madrid, Rome, and the French Open.
Many think that if staged, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will renounce playing both slams probably choosing the Roland Garros over the US Open. The world no.1 and no.2 expressed their doubts about the current situation in the US and it seems more plausible they will skip the entire North American swing.
Not playing the US Open would be a “damage” more for Nadal than for Djokovic. In fact, the Spaniard is the defending champion while Novak had to withdraw with injury when facing Wawrinka in the 4th round.
Why Nadal and Djokovic will play both slams
Talking to BBC, according to tennis legend John McEnroe, eventually, Rafa and Nole will compete in both slams.
“I believe and this is just my feeling, the top players are going to play both. They have been sitting there and I’m assuming most of the top players and some of the younger ones are chomping at the bit to get back out on the court, to compete and see what they have got.
You are talking about two of the three majors that remain, that is a huge deal for the players. It has been done before and it won’t affect more than a couple of players. Obviously we presume and hope Novak will be fine and able to compete if he chooses to do so at the US Open.
Rafa is the one you would think that might be a bit tricky for him to go from hard to clay. That’s not something he likes to do or has done very often,” he said.
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Rafael Nadal in 2020
Currently the world no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 29th of February when he defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-2 in the final in Acapulco to win his 85th career title.
Currently, this season Nadal has a 13-3 win-loss record. Nadal conquered 1 title in Acapulco.
Novak Djokovic in 2020
Now ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 29th of February when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the final in Dubai to win his 79th career title.
This year the Serbian has a 18-0 win-loss record. Djokovic has won 2 titles in 2020 at the Australian Open and in Dubai.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 55 times. The head to head is 29-26 for Djokovic. The last time that they squared off, Novak Djokovic won 6-2 7-64 in the final in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney (ATP Cup) on the 12th of January 2020.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
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