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 US Open Defeating Djokovick in Final

               US Open last grand slam of tennis calendar ended with a bang. As, I predicted in my earlier post Rafael Nadal made it to the final of US Open where he was against world number 1 Novak Djokovick. It was record 37^th clash between two greatest rivals in open era of tennis history out of which 21 matches won by Nadal while 15 matches by Djokovick before this match. This was 4^th straight final at US open for Novak Djokovick while 3^rd US Open for Rafael Nadal. With the kind of form Nadal has been on Hard court recently I declared him favorite in my last article on US Open Final against Novak Djokovick for win.

US Open Finalist Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovick

Rafael Nadal popularly known as “King of Clay Court” for his 8 French Open titles defeated his opponent Novak Djokovick in four sets. It was expected to be close encounter as Hard court is favorite surface of Djokovick while Nadal is in good form on the same surface already winning Cincinnati Masters and Rogers Cup. Nadal who lost more matches to Djokovick in 2011 and 2012 had better results this year. Rafael Nadal has defeated Serbian Novak Djokovick six times in last 7 matches they played.

Eying 13th grand slam of career at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Rafael Nadal started very well and  took a lead of 3-1 in no time breaking the service of Djokovick twice. Novak Djokovick tried to fight back but too many unforced errors in first match goes against him and he lost first set by 6-2 giving lead of 1-0 to Spaniard. Novak Djokovick looked completely erratic and made number of silly mistakes and committed too many unforced errors.

Djokovick after winning the point after 54 shots long rally

Second set was completely opposite of first set. In second set Nadal struggled very badly and his service was broken twice by Djokovick to make score 5-2 in favor of the Serbian. Novak Djokovick hold his serve to win second set with 6-3 and match tied at 1-1. Rafael Nadal looked a bit unhappy with the noises made by the fans in the stadium too.

Like second set Djokovick broke the service of Spaniard and got a lead of 3-1 in 3rd set. But, Nadal bounced back quickly making it 4-4 in no time. Nadal down at 0-40 wins it to get a lead in the 3^rd set for first time with 5-4. Djokovick slammed the ball into net and the set went to Rafael Nadal 6-4 who was trailing 1-3 at one time. Nadal was leading the match 2-1 and a set away from the 2^nd US Open title.

Rafael Nadal reacting after winning a point in final

In fourth set where Djokovick needed to win to be in competition looked completely lost. He looked very tired in no time he gave away the match by score 5-1 in favor of  Nadal who was to serve for match and championship. Rafael Nadal didn’t waste too much time and finished the set with the score of 6-1 and wins  US open title for the second time. Rafael Nadal proved his dominance on hard court in fourth set by winning the set in just 40 minutes. Nadal won the 2nd Grand slam of the year in 3 hours and 21 minutes.

Nadal after Winning the Final match against Djokovick

Analyzing the match we see that too many unforced errors from Novak Djokovick cost match to him. Djokovick made 53 unforced errors while his opponent Nadal made only 20. Rafael Nadal played best of tennis in front of the Queen of Spain and Football star David Beckham in spectator area along with 23,000 spectators at Flushing Meadows in New York city.  

PRIZE MONEY

Winning final match Nadal got his hand not only on 2^nd US Open title and 13^th grand slam but, also a huge paycheck. Rafael Nadal pocketed $ 2.6 Million for winning the US Open champions along with $ 1 Million as bonus for winning the US Open Series like Serena Williams. US Open title is 60^th title for Rafael Nadal in his incredible tennis career.

Rafael Nadal in his Signature Style with US Open Title

This season has been undoubtedly the best hard court season for the Spaniard in his illustrious tennis career. He has played 22 matches on the Hard court winning all of them. Rafael Nadal has won 10 titles this year including the French Open and US Open since making his comeback from injury. Rafael Nadal is looked quite unbeatable no matter on which surface he is playing if we keep aside the first round exit at Wimbledon.

Highest Grand Slam winners of All Time

                         Player Name                                 No. of Grand Slams

                         Roger Federer                                              17

                         Pete Sampras                                              14

                         Rafael Nadal                                            13

                         Roy Emerson                                              12

                         Rod Laver                                                    11

Rafael Nadal is just one title away from Pete Sampras and four titles away from Swiss Legend Roger Federer but, the way he has played this season it doesn’t look too far from him. This year Rafael Nadal has played 60 matches winning 57 of them losing only 3. This tennis season has been almost perfect for the “King of Clay court“.

Roger Federer Tops the Grand Slam Winners List

As it was said by Novak Djokovick day before the match “Rafael Nadal is best in the World”. He has certainly justified that with his sizzling performance once again and the debate will start all over again whether Rafael Nadal is better than Roger Federer? Rafael Nadal is ultimate warrior in Tennis history and his relentless has made him one of all time greats. Rafael Nadal has already won 13 grand slams in his career and he is just 27 so the 17 grand slam titles of Federer is not too far if we look at the amount of age Nadal got to catch that.  

Paes–Stepanek wins US Open 2013 Mens Double Title

Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes with Doubles US Open Trophy

Leander Paes became oldest player in tennis history to win the US Open in Doubles. 40 year old Paes partnering with Radek Stepanek defeated 2^nd seeded team of A Peya and B Soars in straight sets to win the title. This is 14^th grand slam for the Leander Pace while 3^rd grand slam for the Radek Stepanek. This is 3^rd US Open title of 40 year old Leander Paes while first for his partner Stepanek. Paes and Stepanek who defeated title favorites Bryan Brothers in semifinals to insure their place in final won it in straight sets with the score of 6-1, 6-3.

Serena Williams Defeats Azarenka to win US Open 2013 title

             American power house Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in hard fought final of  US Open 2013 to win 17th grand slam. Playing against the same opponent whom she defeated last year, Serena played beautifully to win her 5^th US Open title in her glorious ongoing career. Victoria Azarenka eying for her first US Open grand slam failed again and ended as Runner up second time in a row.   

Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka with their US Open 2013 Titles

Playing in front of packed stadium at Arthur Ashe Stadium World number 1 Serena Williams was against the world number 2 Victoria Azarenka. Serena Williams winner of 16 career grand slams was clear favorite for the US Open title, but a tough fight was expected from the two grand slam winner Victoria Azarenka. In head to head matches before this match Serena leads with 13-3 win-loss on Azarenka.

Serena Williams in the US Open 2013 finals

Victoria Azarenka who defeated Serena Williams in the Cincinnati Masters started confidently in the first set. Both of them tried their level best to pass through the other. But, playing in the windy conditions it was getting tough for the both player. Serena broke the service of Azarenka at 5-5 to make it 6-5 and won the first set with the score line of 7-5. Serena got a lead of 1-0 in the finals and Serena took 58 minutes to win first set against the world number 2.

Victoria Azarenka Eying her First US Open Title

In second set Serena started very confidently to break the service of Azarenka twice to take a lead of 4-1. But Azarenka fought back quickly and broke the service of Serena Williams to make it 4-3. There after the score became 5-5 and quickly 6-6 means match went into tie-breaker. Victoria Azarenka wins the tie breaker by 8-6 to win the second set 7-6 to equalize the lead 1-1.

Third set to decide the women’s US Open 2013 champion, and both were looking in good rhythm in spite of playing in windy conditions. But in third set Victoria lost the rhythm at 1-1 and in no time Serena finished the set 6-1 winning her 5^th US Open title. Serena deserved to be the US Open champion as she has played amazing tennis through year as well as in the US Open too. Serena is one title away at the US Open to become joint all time highest US Open winner along with the Chris Evert who has won six.

Serena Williams with US Open 2013 Title

US Open 2013 is 17^th grand slam for the American power house Serena Williams in her illustrious tennis career. With this win she pocketed $ 2.6 Million and also insured the bonus amount. Win at New York also fulfilled her dream of equalizing the Swiss legend Roger Federer's record of 17 grand slams titles. With 17 grand slams she is at the 6^th position in all time women grand Slam winners list.

Mirnyi-Hlavackova win US Open 2013 Mixed Doubles Title

Max Mirnyi and A Hlavackova with US Open 2013 Mixed Doubles Title

Max Mirnyi and Andrea Hlavackova defeated the pair of Santiago Gonzalez and Abigail Spears to win the Mixed doubles title of US Open 2013. This is fourth mixed doubles title for the Max Mirnyi while he has already won 6 Men’s double title in his career. This is first mixed title for the Hlavackova. Hlackova and Mirnyi won the match in straight sets with the score 7-6, 6-. 

Hlavackova-Hradecka wins US Open 2013 Women Doubles Title

 

US Open 2013 Women Doubles Runner Up & Winner Team with their Trophies 

The pair of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of Czeck Republic defeats the Australian pair of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. This is second grand slam in a week for Hlavackova who also won the mixed doubles title with Max Mirnyi. The pair of Hlavackova and Hradecka defeated strong team of Williams sisters in semifinals to make a place in final won the finals with the score of 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.

Nadal to face Djokovick in US Open 2013 Tennis Final

                 Last grand slam of the year 2013, US Open is in its last phase and only finals are left to be played. As I anticipated in my earlier article two favorite contenders are to play for the US Open 2013 title on the 10^th September. World number 1 Novak Djokovick will take on the world number 2 in the finals of the US Open 2013. It is going to be cracker match as both of the players are in the great form and also their rivalry is growing by every passing day. With the place of both of these players in the finals of the US Open 2013 the rivalry is started all over again.  

US Open 2013 Trophy

Head to Head: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovick are going to face each other 37^th times their glorious tennis career.  Out of these 36 matches Nadal has won 21 matches while 15 matches have been won by the Serbian star Djokovick. From this we can say Nadal has upper hand but off late Djokovick has earned most of his victories on the Nadal.   

 

Novak Djokovick to play Rafael Nadal in US Open 2013 final

Rafael Nadal who has won 50 matches out of the 53 matches he played before starting his campaign in US Open is looking in very good form. This year has been even for the Novak Djokovick too and he has displayed sizzling tennis. As Roger Federer is looking like if he is going to retire soon the main rivalry in tennis circuit is going to be between these two stalwarts.

Rafael Nadal will start as the favorite in the final as Nadal has beaten Djokovick in their last two hard court meeting Cincinnati Masters and Rogers Cup before getting into the US Open. Nadal also has a chance to equalize his loss to the same opponent in the finals of US Open 2011. Rafael Nadal has lost only one set in the current US Open and he is looking in quite dominative form.   

 

Rafael Nadal is favorite for the US Open 2013 finals

Novak Djokovick is going to play in the fifth consecutive final at US Open. Djokovick has won once in the US Open finals while lost on the three occasions. Djokovick is going to put everything to win his second US Open grand slam tournaments but he will have to play his best to defeat the king of clay and 8 times French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovick will play in 5th consecutive US Open finals

Rafael Nadal defeated 8^th seeded Richard Gasquet in the semifinal in straight sets while, Djokovick defeated the 9^th seeded Wawrinka in five setter semifinal. Rafael Nadal who has won 21 matches on the row on hard court in 2013 after making his comeback from the injury has already won three titles on the Hard court. But, Novak Djokovick leads the encounter on the Hard court as he has won 11 matches out of the 17 matches they played.

Rafael Nadal is in incredible form and very high on confidence since making his comeback from injury. If we drop the first round exit of Nadal at the Wimbledon he has played incredible tennis this year. US Open 2013 final is going to be played on the Monday rather than the traditional Sundays. So, we are going to see the hell of a match between the best of this time in the tennis. Another Epic encounter is in waiting as the two best players in business to face each other in the US Open finals.

               Rafael Nadal is my favorite for the final against Novak Djokovick. Who is your favorite for the finals Novak Djokovick or Rafael Nadal ? Drop your feedback and response in the comment box.  

Who Will Win US Open 2013 Tennis Grand Slam?

                US Open Tennis is fourth and final grand slam of the calendar year. US Open is considered as the oldest hard court lawn-tennis tournament as it was started way back in 1881. The other three grand slams are Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Out of these four Grand slams French open is played on clay court, Wimbledon on Grass court while the remaining two Australian Open and US open are played on the hard courts.  

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US Open : Last Grand Slam of 2013

           Earlier this tournament was played on the Grass court then it shifted to the clay and finally to Hard court in 1975 and since then it has been played on the Hard court. US Open starts generally in late August and ends in early September. 133^rd edition of US Open is starting from 26th August and the final match will be played on the 9^th September, 2013.

Current US Open Champions

Andy Murray : British tennis star Andy Murray is current US Open champion. Murray defeated Novak Djokovick to win his US Open title as well first career grand slam title. Andy Murray defeated Serbian player Novak Djokovick with score of 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6 and 6-2 in the US Open 2012 finals. 

Andy Murray: Defending Mens US Open 2012 Champion

Serena Williams: American powerhouse Serena Williams is current US Open champion in women circuit. Serena defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in final to win her 4^th US Open as well as 15^th career grand slam titles. Serena won the finals in three sets with the score of 6-2, 2-6 and 7-5.

Serena Williams :Defending Women US Open 2012 Champion

Last 5 Years US Open Champions

             This table lists the US Open winners of the last five years in both Men and Women tennis circuit. Swiss tennis legend and greatest player of all time Roger Federer has won this tournament five times in a row from 2004-2008 with complete domination. But in last 5 years this tournament has seen a new winner every year. While in women section, Serena Won this tournament 2 times and retired tennis player Kim Clijsters also won it two times in last five years. Australian player Samantha Stosour won it once in 2011.  

Year	Men’s Winner	Women’s Winner
2012	Andy Murray	Serena Williams
2011	Novak Djokovick	Samantha Stosour
2010	Rafael Nadal	Kim Clijsters
2009	Jun Martin Del Potro	Kim Clijsters
2008	Roger Federer	Serena Williams

PRIZE MONEY

             The prize money in the US Open is going to be highest among all four Grand slams. The prize money has been increased for the every match of tournament from the round of 128 to the winner of tournament. Total prize in the US Open 2013 is little over the $ 34 million, and it is to be awarded in the following sequence for each round of the matches.

Matches	Prize Money
Winner	$ 2.6 Million
Runner Up	$ 1.3 Million
Semi-Finalist	$ 650,000
Quarter- Finalist	$ 325,000
Round of 16	$ 165,000
Round of 32	$ 93,000
Round of 64	$ 53,000
Round of 128	$ 32,000

MEN CIRCUIT

On analyzing tennis calendar year we get to see that this year has been dominated by the real power houses of the game in both men and women circuit. If we talk about the men tennis circuit then this year has been ruled by the “King of Clay” court Rafael Nadal who has won 9 titles including the French Open 2013 for record 8^th time. Rafael Nadal is only tennis player in the history to win a single grand slam 8 or more times.

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After making his comeback from injury Nadal has participated in 12 events and went into 11 finals and won 9 out of them. Wimbledon 2013 was bad experience for him as he got out in first round. Apart from that he has played sizzling tennis and has a 50-03 win-loss record while 15-0 win-loss record on Hard court surface this year. He has won two consecutive Hard court titles Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters Title before participating into the US Open grand slam.

Rafael Nadal : Favorite for US Open 2013 Grand Slam

World Number 2 tennis player Rafael Nadal will clearly start as a favorite in US Open riding on his good form. If Nadal wins this grand slam, then it will be his 13^th grand slam and he will become third highest grand slam winners in men tennis history behind of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. He is going to face stiff competition from defending champion Andy Murray and world number 1 Novak Djokovick. Andy Murray has played good tennis and also won Wimbledon this year. You can’t count out Novak Djokovick and Swiss Legend Roger Federer especially on the hard court events.

WOMEN CIRCUIT:

In women circuit, pretty much like the men circuit Serena Williams has completely dominated the calendar year. Winner of 16 career grand slam is looking in the best of fitness and well prepared for the US Open title. Serena has also won the French Open 2013 and various other titles this year. She lost in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters against the Victoria Azarenka in the finals. If we closely analyze the results of this year then we get to see that she is dominated every women tennis player and no one is posing that strength to face Serena Williams.

Serena Williams : Favorite for US Open 2013 Grand Slam

Wimbledon 2013 winner Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka and Agnesia Radwanska can pose some threat in the way of Serena Williams for her 17^th grand slam title. Maria Sharapova struggling with injury has withdrawn her name  from the US Open. Victoria Azarenka beat Serena in the Cincinnati Masters and this will definitely boost her confidence to face Serena. Still, American powerhouse Serena Williams will start as the super favorite for the Women’s title in her home country.

              Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are my favorite for the US Open 2013 titles. Do you agree with my Predictions? Who are your favorites for the US Open title?  Drop your views and your favorite for the US Open 2013 in the comment box!