Nadal vs. Djokovic in 2013: 3-3

[El Dude]

So Rafa and Novak ended the season with a tie 3-3 record. Here's the six matches they played against each other:

Monte Carlo: Djokovic, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Roland Garros: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7
Canada: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2)
US Open: Nadal, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Beijing: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4
WTF: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4

Now to be fair, Nadal is 2-0 in Slams; 1-1 in Masters, 0-1 in ATP 500, and 0-1 in the WTF - so he gets the edge because of those Slams.

That said, I think the record puts Nadal's superiority in question. Novak wins in total sets, 10-8. I'd take Rafa's two Slams, but the two are rather close, maybe too close to call in terms of who is the better player (we have to remember that about half of Rafa's tournaments were played on clay - a very high percentage).

It should be interesting to see how 2014 turns out, and if Andy Murray can get a foot in the door.

 

[DarthFed]

Rafa won the 2 biggest ones so he got the better of it this year no question. Nole won 1 on Rafa's turf and couldn't quite seal the deal at RG, then Rafa won 1 on Nole's turf and took the momentum and won the USO final easily. The Toronto SF was extremely important. Without that win I don't think Rafa wins the USO, especially if Nole was in the final.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

The only one that looks out of character is the Us Open match. In context, keeping in mind that Rafa won the Roger's Cup and Cincy leading up to it, it might make sense, but Nole had no business losing that one that easily. That is a surface Nole just thrives on. So, that one puzzled me a bit.

 

[huntingyou]

This match-up it's special because it goes good for one player in bunches and then it switch for the other player in bunches........7-0, 6-1 and now 2-0 and counting. Rafa will need to concentrate on the slams, specially AO and SW19 and forget about the ranking. Novak will get it back, it's inevitable; perhaps by US summer HC season since Rafa will be adding good chunk of points at AO and Wimby (if he schedule wisely) and should be able to hold it until then.

Regarding the OP, it's clear Rafa had the upper-hand this year....the only match that hurts was the one today. Novak will be leaking his wounds from RG and UO until next year.

 

[Mastoor]

In last two years No1e wasn't really there when it really matters and that is from May to September. For some reason someone very close to him died in May of both years and he gets distressed. I hope he will have better luck in 2014.

 

[Moxie]

The only one that looks out of character is the Us Open match. In context, keeping in mind that Rafa won the Roger's Cup and Cincy leading up to it, it might make sense, but Nole had no business losing that one that easily. That is a surface Nole just thrives on. So, that one puzzled me a bit.

In fairness, the loss in Montreal was the catalyst for the loss at the USO. Along with the loss to Murray at Wimbledon. I agree that how meekly Novak went down was surprising, but it was the culmination of a lot of tough losses. What surprises me is how quickly he got reanimated AFTER the USO. After being lack-luster for much of the year, it's like someone put the paddles to his chest and he jumped up like he'd never been slumbering.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The only one that looks out of character is the Us Open match. In context, keeping in mind that Rafa won the Roger's Cup and Cincy leading up to it, it might make sense, but Nole had no business losing that one that easily. That is a surface Nole just thrives on. So, that one puzzled me a bit.

In fairness, the loss in Montreal was the catalyst for the loss at the USO. Along with the loss to Murray at Wimbledon. I agree that how meekly Novak went down was surprising, but it was the culmination of a lot of tough losses. What surprises me is how quickly he got reanimated AFTER the USO. After being lack-luster for much of the year, it's like someone put the paddles to his chest and he jumped up like he'd never been slumbering.

Well, he took a page out of Fed's book. Fed lost to Djoker in 2011 USO and then
bounced back to wipe the rest of 2011 as you remember.

 

[calitennis127]

So Rafa and Novak ended the season with a tie 3-3 record. Here's the six matches they played against each other:

Monte Carlo: Djokovic, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Roland Garros: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7
Canada: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2)
US Open: Nadal, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Beijing: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4
WTF: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4

Now to be fair, Nadal is 2-0 in Slams; 1-1 in Masters, 0-1 in ATP 500, and 0-1 in the WTF - so he gets the edge because of those Slams.

That said, I think the record puts Nadal's superiority in question. Novak wins in total sets, 10-8. I'd take Rafa's two Slams, but the two are rather close, maybe too close to call in terms of who is the better player (we have to remember that about half of Rafa's tournaments were played on clay - a very high percentage).

It should be interesting to see how 2014 turns out, and if Andy Murray can get a foot in the door.

Good post El Dude. I was thinking about starting a similar thread, but you beat me to it.

When you look at those numbers from 2013 and the way that the matches went, it is clear that Djokovic is more so in the driver's seat than Nadal. If he plays on top of his game, he walks away with the match. If he isn't on top of his game, he will be right there in a long, grinding match and will have to fold at key moments in order to lose (as he did in Montreal and the US Open).

The US Open was the most regrettable loss. He clearly showed that he is the superior hardcourt player in that match, so it is a pity that he lost it. I still wince just thinking about that 3rd set and how Djokovic should have easily taken it.

There really was no excuse for that loss, given how much better Djokovic is on that court. But that is just something he will have to live with. Hopefully it inspires greatness in him in 2014!

 

[calitennis127]

then Rafa won 1 on Nole's turf and took the momentum and won the USO final easily.

How in the world was that an "easy" win?

Do you think it is easy to come back from 0-2 in the third set, facing two breakpoints after already having been on court for 2 hours (with grueling rally after grueling rally having occurred)? Do you think it is easy to come back from being down 0-40 on your own serve at 4-4 in the third set?

Calling that an "easy" win is logically absurd.

That match was Djokovic's for the taking.

And it is a pity he lost it, as he is clearly the superior hardcourt player.

 

[calitennis127]

The only one that looks out of character is the Us Open match. In context, keeping in mind that Rafa won the Roger's Cup and Cincy leading up to it, it might make sense, but Nole had no business losing that one that easily. That is a surface Nole just thrives on. So, that one puzzled me a bit.

As I just told DarthFed, I don't understand how that was an "easy" win for Nadal.

That said, I agree that the match was puzzling, in that I have no idea what Djokovic was doing in the first set. He only had 6 winners in that set, and then in the 2nd and 3rd he exploded for nearly 20 in each.

Had he started that way, we wouldn't have had to witness the absurdity of Nadal having 2 US Opens while Djokovic has 1.

Talk about a disordered world. Good grief.

 

[Kieran]

El Dude, the "superiority" isn't in question at all. 2 slams! It's straight forward stuff. Ask any player which he'd take and there's your answer. Rafa got what he came for this season, now he hits the beach...

 

[Denis]

It's nice that Nole straightsetted Rafa three times this year including Monte Carlo. RG was a coinflip more or less, and the US Open was just a bad showing by Nole. Hopefully 2014 will bring better fortune.

 

[Kieran]

RG wasn't a coin flip. It was a victory for Rafa, as per usual...

 

[Kieran]

So Rafa and Novak ended the season with a tie 3-3 record. Here's the six matches they played against each other:

Monte Carlo: Djokovic, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Roland Garros: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7
Canada: Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2)
US Open: Nadal, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Beijing: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4
WTF: Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4

Now to be fair, Nadal is 2-0 in Slams; 1-1 in Masters, 0-1 in ATP 500, and 0-1 in the WTF - so he gets the edge because of those Slams.

That said, I think the record puts Nadal's superiority in question. Novak wins in total sets, 10-8. I'd take Rafa's two Slams, but the two are rather close, maybe too close to call in terms of who is the better player (we have to remember that about half of Rafa's tournaments were played on clay - a very high percentage).

It should be interesting to see how 2014 turns out, and if Andy Murray can get a foot in the door.

The more I look at this, the more I wonder about statistical analysis. Does it really pay attention to the Big Picture? I mean, yeah sure, Rafa won two GS matches - but Nole won more sets!

So what? He didn't win more sets when it mattered.

Then the old slur: half of Rafa's tourneys were played on clay. Hmm. More than half of Nole's were played on hards. He only won one tourney on clay - but Rafa treated the summer hards like clay in May, beating everyone in sight and taking the big summer major.

I'm not getting at you, El Dude, but this thread is a bit bandwagonny. It's obvious who was the superior player this year, while not taking away from Nole's great response, which does set us up for a great 2014. But asking questions like the ones above and trying to level the playing field between a 500 series money-maker match in Beijing and a royal battle at Flushing Meadows doesn't really do justice to Rafa's achievements this year at all...

 

[nehmeth]

The more I look at this, the more I wonder about statistical analysis. Does it really pay attention to the Big Picture? I mean, yeah sure, Rafa won two GS matches - but Nole won more sets!

So what? He didn't win more sets when it mattered.

Then the old slur: half of Rafa's tourneys were played on clay. Hmm. More than half of Nole's were played on hards. He only won one tourney on clay - but Rafa treated the summer hards like clay in May, beating everyone in sight and taking the big summer major.

It's obvious who was the superior player this year, while not taking away from Nole's great response, which does set us up for a great 2014. But asking questions like the ones above and trying to level the playing field between a 500 series money-maker match in Beijing and a royal battle at Flushing Meadows doesn't really do justice to Rafa's achievements this year at all...

Totally agree Kieran.

Novak wilted on three of the key fields of battle this summer. I'm including Wimbledon where he barely showed up in the final. To compare sets when the real stat is that Rafa is one slam short of tying Pete and Novak is still stuck at 6 is ridiculous. Screw the damn sets!

Add to that Ralf won the events leading up to the U.S. Open, take out the few matches he played on grass and you could reasonably say he also played half the year on cement too.!! Ralf bullied Novak on his turf in a way Novak was unable to do outside of Monte Carlo.

If Novak steps things up on the big stages and wins there, then maybe a comparison will be worthwhile.

 

[DarthFed]

then Rafa won 1 on Nole's turf and took the momentum and won the USO final easily.

How in the world was that an "easy" win?

Do you think it is easy to come back from 0-2 in the third set, facing two breakpoints after already having been on court for 2 hours (with grueling rally after grueling rally having occurred)? Do you think it is easy to come back from being down 0-40 on your own serve at 4-4 in the third set?

Calling that an "easy" win is logically absurd.

That match was Djokovic's for the taking.

And it is a pity he lost it, as he is clearly the superior hardcourt player.

The scoreline suggests it was an easy match. 2 blowout sets and 1 semi-competitive 3rd set. Now having watched it the 3rd set was very close and of course pivotal but Nole basically handed it on a silver platter, especially the first break back, and then lost the 4th 6-1. That was as easy a match as Rafa could have dreamed of before the final.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

The only one that looks out of character is the Us Open match. In context, keeping in mind that Rafa won the Roger's Cup and Cincy leading up to it, it might make sense, but Nole had no business losing that one that easily. That is a surface Nole just thrives on. So, that one puzzled me a bit.

As I just told DarthFed, I don't understand how that was an "easy" win for Nadal.

That said, I agree that the match was puzzling, in that I have no idea what Djokovic was doing in the first set. He only had 6 winners in that set, and then in the 2nd and 3rd he exploded for nearly 20 in each.

Had he started that way, we wouldn't have had to witness the absurdity of Nadal having 2 US Opens while Djokovic has 1.

Talk about a disordered world. Good grief.

If someone told Rafa the result of that match before the match, he would tell him to GTFOH...Novak has no business losing a set 6-1 to anyone on a hard court slam final. The shoulda, coulda, wouldas do not matter, it was just way too easy for Rafa, especially at the final set...

 

[huntingyou]

If someone told Rafa the result of that match before the match, he would tell him to GTFOH...Novak has no business losing a set 6-1 to anyone on a hard court slam final. The shoulda, coulda, wouldas do not matter, it was just way too easy for Rafa, especially at the final set...

Didn't Rafa lost a couple 1-6 sets in GS finals to both Fed and Novak?

It happens and it's normal, at that point Rafa had the high tide on his side and Novak was deflated after what happened in set #3.

 

[El Dude]

Kieran, your reaction is a bit kneejerk. I am not saying that they were equals this year, but that Rafa's edge is less significant than it may at first seem. It is really as simple as that. I'm not "hating on" Rafa, nor am I trying to diminish his accomplishments this year. I just think the gap between him and Novak is a lot smaller than the "feeling of the year" implies, and that 2014 will likely be much closer.

 

[Kieran]

I think the thread is knee jerk, El Dude. Over the season Rafa has clearly been the better man, yet you're questioning that based on what? Number of sets won? The two slam victories were the most significant results this year, over-shadowing everything else. Since the US Open, Rafa has been more demob happy and garnering ranking points than attacking the tour with the hunger he showed in summer...