Nadal's two year run of 37 unbeaten matches on clay just came to an end as Djokovic's 34 match winning streak (on all surfaces) continued- Djok just beat Nadal in the Madrid Masters final. It signifies Djokovic as the player of the moment (and that moment is lasting) and rise up the rankings (he's at number two now, but could be number one even before the French Open). It also suggests that Nadal may be...gasp...on the decline? Strange to suggest as he is still over 2,000 points ahead of Djokovic in the rankings, but once upon a time he was unbeatable and terrifying to opponents but Djokovic has beaten him a few times this year and today it was a straight sets victory. Apparently if Nadal fails to reach the Rome semis and Djok wins then he will be number one, failing that it seems not only possibly but likely to happen at the French Open. Djoko only got to the Quarter Finals last year while Nadal won- meaning Nadal has tons of points to defend but none to gain, but Djokovic would gain over 1500 if he won the tournament. Whether Djoko could beat Nadal in a Grand Slam is another question though...
In British tennis, Andy Murray lost to Bellucci in the third round of Madrid, Elana Baltacha lost in her first clay semi-final at the ITF Suez Open, and Heather Watson lost in the second round. Erm, look for the silver lining here...Murray's poorly elbow has healed, Baltacha reached her first clay semi, and Watson has already got her ranking up to 122- next stop top 100.
Actually, Nadal is only about 800 points ahead. The Madrid Masters was held a week later the previous year, which means that he will still carry his 1000 winner's points for another seven days - in addition, that is, to the 600 he earned yesterday for getting to the final. Next Monday, those 1000 will disappear........but the Djoker did not earn any Madrid points last year, so his total (including his 1000 points for yesterday's win) will remain just as it is. Which means,to make a long story short, that they will both enter the Rome Masters 800 points apart with all to play for......and Nadal has a much tougher drawer: Federer and Ferrer in his half. Nadal could also get hit by a bus on the way to the tournament......
ReplyDeleteCrikey anonymous you're full of knowledge- my head was spinning trying to work it out. I'm too use to having to explain to people what a let cord is or which country Wozniaki is from that I forget there are people with real knowledge!
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