Nadal Wins French Open 9th Time Defeating Djokovick in Final

The no.1 tennis player in world Rafael Nadal proved once again why he is referred as the "King of Clay Court" defeating Novak Djokovick in final to win French Open for record 9th time in his incredible tennis career. Before this French Open 2014 finals Nadal and Djokovick had faced each other in 41 matches out of which 22 were won by the Spaniard Nadal while 19 matches were won by the Serbian Djokovick. This is 6th win for Rafael Nadal over former world number 1 Novak Djokovick in French Open and he is yet to loose a match to the Serbian.

Rafael Nadal with French Open 2014 Trophy (Credit : telegraph.co.uk)

Semi-Final : Rafael Nadal defeated British tennis star Andy Murray in straight sets by 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 quite dominating to cement his place in the finals of French Open for the record 9th time while his opponent in the final Djiokovick defeated Ernests Gulbis to book his place in the finals for 2nd time against the same opponent who defeated him in 2012 French Open finals.

Rafael Nadal started as the favorite due to his amazing record at Paris in French Open where he has lost only 1 match in 65 matches he played before this final. Playing for his first French Open to complete his career slam Djokovick started well and won the first set by 3-6 quite convincingly and took all important lead over Nadal. The way Nadal struggled with his serve and return in first set it looked like as Djokovik is going to complete his career slam this time. But in second set Nadal fought hard to win the set by 7-5 to make it 1-all.

Loss in 2nd set changed the game of Djokovick and he lost the 3rd set in no time to Nadal by 6-2. Nadal was looking as if he is going to finish the match comfortable as Djokovik looked completely lost with his game. Nut, in fourth set Djokovick tried to get back in the match and fought hard before losing the set by 6-4 and also the match and handed 9th French Open title to Nadal. The final ended in 3 hours and 30 minutes in front of the 15,000 spectators.

     "If I were a left-hander, maybe I would win the tournament"-  Novak Djokovick

Djokovick & Nadal with their French Open Trophies (Credit: sportskeeda.com)

French Open 2014 is 9th Rolland Garros title for Nadal and he has won it most in the history of French Open and also he is only player to win a single Grand Slam for more than 8 times. With this win over Djokovick, Nadal also extended his head-to-head lead against Djokovick to 23-19 in 42 matches while Win-Loss record at Paris by 66-1 which is simply incredible.

        "For me, playing here at Rolland Garros is just Unforgettable "  - Rafael Nadal 

Rafae Nadal received his 9th French Open title from legendary tennis player Bjorn Borg who also won this prestigious title for 6 times in career.  Now Rafael Nadal have 14 grand slam titles in his name and he is at second position jointly along with tennis legend Pete Samprass while this list is topped by Swiss Great Roger Federer who has won 17 Grand Slam titles in his career.

Grand Slams Won by Rafael Nadal in his career :
   
Wimbledon      :   2
US Open          :   2  
AUS Open       :   1
French Open   :   9

Rafael Nadal can surely break the record of 17 grand slams record by Roger Federer as age is on his side all he needs is a good fitness where he has struggled whole his career. Winning French Open Nadal also increased his bank balance by $ 2.25 Million while runners up Djokovick got richer by $ 1.12 Million.

Rafael Nadal also became first player in French Open history to win this 5 times in a row beating the record of 4 times set by Bjorn Borg who was also there in the stands and later he delivered the winners trophy to Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal Wins 62nd Title With Rio Open Win Over Dolgopolov

World number 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal defeated Aleksandra Dolgopolov of Ukraine in straight sets to win the Rio Open 2014 tennis title.  Rafael Nadal who is considered as one of the greatest tennis player of all time and greatest tennis player of clay court won the final in straight sets. Rio Open was organized for the first time in Brazil and it was $1.5 Million prize money event. This ATP 500 event of Brazil saw the participation from star tennis players like world number 1 Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Nicolas almagro, Fabio Fogini, Tommy Robredo. Playing in the inaugural edition of Rio Open, Nadal looked in his sublime playing on his favorite clay court.

Rafael Nadal with Rio Open trophy (Photo credit : indianexpress.com)

On his way to final of Rio Open, Nadal had to sweat long against the fellow Spaniard Pablo andujar. Nadal won the semifinal against Andujar by 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 to book his final berth. Aleksandra Dolgopolov made a big upset in semifinal when he defeated 2^nd seeded David Ferrer of Spain. Dolgopolov defeated David Ferrer in straight sets by 6-4, 6-4.

Nadal made number of mistakes in the semi-final, but he recovered quickly and improved quickly when it needed the most to win the title. Nadal looked in control of the match and won the first set by 6-3 in quick time. The way he played in first set it looked as if it is going to be a one sided affair. But, in second set Aleksandra improved his game and put up a tough fight against the number 1.

King of clay court Rafael Nadal has to struggle against the Ukrainian before winning the 2^nd set by 7-5 and also the match in straight sets. With the win in 2^nd set Nadal won the inaugural Rio Open 2014 title in straight sets over the Aleksanda Dolgopolov. Rio Open is 62^nd tour level title for Rafael Nadal and his 2^nd title in 2014 after Sydney International Open 2014 title.

Rafael Nadal is tied 7^th with Guillermo Vilas in Open era title winners list and he is two trophies behind of the Bjorn Borg and tennis legend Pete Sampras. The title win in Rio de Janerio made Rafael Nadal richer by $316,400 and also 500 ATP points. Dolgopolov despite losing in final got richer by $142,650 and also by 300 ATP points.

Always, when you win a title, it’s special!- Rafael Nadal

World number 1 Rafael Nadal has a 16-1 win-loss record in 2014 calendar year, he lost in the final of Australian Open against Stanislas Wawrinka. Nadal looked in great shape fitness wise and looked equally potent as he used to be after returning to tennis circuit after the injury. The way he played and won the Rio Open title, he looks pretty much on the way to his 9^th French Open Title.

Is Rafael Nadal Better Than Roger Federer?

                  In the world of tennis Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer don’t need introduction. They are rated as greatest players in the history of lawn tennis. Their rivalry has been considered as the greatest rivalry in open Era of tennis. Rafael Nadal and Federer are very good friends off the field, but on field their rivalry is known to everyone. Before comparing these two greats of tennis, first we go through their achievements till now in their career individually.

King of Clay Rafael Nadal or Swiss Legend Roger Federer

Roger Federer

                Currently ranked number 3 in world , Federer holds the record of holding the position of rank 1 for longest time. He was ranked world number 1 for the record 302 weeks. He also holds the record of winning the most number of grand slams. He has won 17 grand slams in his glorious career. He won Wimbledon 7 times, US open 5times, AUS open 4 times and French open once. For all his records and achievements he is considered as the greatest of all time.

Rafael Nadal

                He is ranked 5 in the world currently and referred as the "King of Clay". He has won in total 13 grand slam in his tennis career out of which he has won French Open 8 times, Wimbledon and US Open  twice while AUS Open once in his glorious career. In the list of top grand slam winners his position is 3^rd after Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Rafael Nadal is only player in tennis history to win single grand slam 8 or more times. Nadal has also won the Olympic gold medal and he is one of those players who have completed the Golden Slam.

                As both of them have played most of their tennis at same time and they are still playing. So its quite normal to compare them and also figure out who is greater between two. If we examine the individual achievement of these two then Federer got clear edge over his arch rival Rafael Nadal. Federer started his professional career in 1999 and won his first grand slam in 2003.  Rafael Nadal started his professional career in 2001 and won his first grand slam in 2005. Federer aged 31 expected to retire soon while, Nadal aged 27  have all the chance in world to get closer to the Swiss legend’s 17 grand slam records.

Rafael Nadal

                        Observing these stats and numbers the question arises who is better in these two? To find out the better of these two, I have compared their individual matches leaving apart rest of the things. Comparison of two greats is never an easy task but as they have played at the same time, so it gets little easier in this case. They have faced each other 30 times in their career. Their head to head win-loss record is

Head to Head

                           Matches                      Nadal Won                  Federer Won                                                             31                                              21                                                 10      

Court Wise  

                           Court                        Nadal  Won                    Federer Won
                             Clay                                  13                                       2

                             Hard                                   7                                       6

                             Grass                                  1                                       2        

                     
                        If you look at the head to head record between these two stalwarts, you get to know Nadal has much better record against the Federer. They are even on the Hard court, while clay court is totally dominated by the Nadal and Federer has better record on grass court. But they haven’t played too many matches on that court. So with the record of 20-10 in favor of the Nadal he has clear dominated the Federer.    

 

Head to Head in Finals

                       
                      Total Matches                 Nadal Won                        Federer Won

                               20                                    14                                         6

                        In the finals too Nadal has better record against the Roger Federer. It makes him better than the Federer as there is huge pressure in the finals but he has maintained his cool and won 14 finals out of the 20 meetings. So from the overall study of their matches against each other, no rocket science is needed to declare that Rafael Nadal is better than the Roger Federer in head to head comparison.

                     So in my point of view Nadal is better than the Roger Federer. What do you feel about this ? Do you agree with me ? Who is better in your point of view ?