Novak Djokovic triumphs in China

[britbox]

Novak Djokovic won his fourth consecutive China Open title with a comfortable victory over long time rival Rafael Nadal.

The World #1 Serb triumphed 6-2, 6-2 in just 91 minutes.

Djokovic broke the Spaniard in the opening stanza to set the tone for the match. He hit 23 winners to Nadal’s 7.

He extended his perfect record at Beijing to 29-0 and closed the Head to Head with Nadal to 22-23.

For Nadal, this was his first hard court final in 18 months and he will take comfort from that going into a potential clash with big serving Ivo Karlovic in Shanghai.

Photo: Marianne Bevis (Creative Commons License)

 

[Federberg]

That was a bad loss for Rafa. He actually looked  competitive at the start, but the way Novak pulled away in the second set is a really bad sign. I think this was less about Novak being really good and more about Rafa being very average in the end. Will be much tougher when the stronger guys (Stan, Murray and Roger) are back in Shanghai

 

[britbox]

I don't think the loss itself was that bad.  Not many predicted a Rafa win here.

Maybe the manner of defeat was more significant - particularly the way Djokovic coasted through the second set.

 

[Federberg]

I didn't mean the loss itself. Rather the way Novak pulled away so easily. A bit of a concern..

 

[britbox]

I didn’t mean the loss itself. Rather the way Novak pulled away so easily. A bit of a concern..

A big concern for fans of the Spanish bull. Less so for thee and me!

 

[Billie]

I don't think this result has such a significance for future.  Nole beat Rafa at FO 7:5 6:3 6:1, the first set being the toughest and the others easier.  In fact throughout the whole season, Nole managed to outlast and run away with matches in deciding sets against different opposition.  They had some easy and some hard wins against each other throughout their careers.

The fact is that Nadal himself stated before the match that he is not on the same tennis level as Nole this year, shows that Rafa knows exactly what he is talking about.  That doesn't mean that things will stay the same for the foreseeable future.

 

[Denis]

I don’t think this result has such a significance for future. Nole beat Rafa at FO 7:5 6:3 6:1, the first set being the toughest and the others easier. In fact throughout the whole season, Nole managed to outlast and run away with matches in deciding sets against different opposition. They had some easy and some hard wins against each other throughout their careers. The fact is that Nadal himself stated before the match that he is not on the same tennis level as Nole this year, shows that Rafa knows exactly what he is talking about. That doesn’t mean that things will stay the same for the foreseeable future.

I am quite optimistic it will. Nadal is pretty much qualified for the WTF. I hope he ends up in Novak's group so at the very least Novak levels the h2h this year. Then fingers crossed Nadal will remain mediocre enough to meet Djokovic in a couple of quarters next year. I think he might actually be able to climb back into the top 4 at number 4. But that's about it.

 

[Billie]

Yeah, hard to tell with these things @Denis, I just think Nadal might have another surge in him next year.

 

In 29 matches at this tournament Nole lost only 3 sets in total, so it was always an uphill battle for anybody frankly as he has several things going on for him here:  1. he loves playing here and has a lot of fans, 2. court suits his game, 3. it happens after a few weeks of rest after USO so he is normally very rested when he comes here.

 

[Mastoor]

Nadal is not far away from his old form at all. He just needs some more confidence and he will be quickly back to top 2 or 3.

 

 

 

[shawnbm]

It looked rather routine for Nole, but then most matches are for him these days.  He is in his prime right now and supremely confident.  It is difficult to see him losing any match these days; it will take a special performance.  That being said, I thought in some rallies and points in the match, there was some positivity from Rafa--I think this match will boost his confidence going forward, as he showed and he can stand toe to toe with Novak and win points with great shots.  The biggest difference is Novak's service versus Rafa's and the return of service--Nole just cleans his clock on both counts.  To beat Novak nowadays, you have to serve very well and have offensive firepower to take points away from him.   He is simply too good from the baseline to win over time, including Nadal (who used to be that guy).

 

[britbox]

I think you nailed it @shawnbm, it's going to be very tough for Rafa (and Fed to a lesser extent) here on in. Djokovic is SO solid.

 

[britbox]

It looked rather routine for Nole, but then most matches are for him these days. He is in his prime right now and supremely confident. It is difficult to see him losing any match these days; it will take a special performance. That being said, I thought in some rallies and points in the match, there was some positivity from Rafa–I think this match will boost his confidence going forward, as he showed and he can stand toe to toe with Novak and win points with great shots. The biggest difference is Novak’s service versus Rafa’s and the return of service–Nole just cleans his clock on both counts. To beat Novak nowadays, you have to serve very well and have offensive firepower to take points away from him. He is simply too good from the baseline to win over time, including Nadal (who used to be that guy).

Great to see you here by the way... always one of my favourite posters on previous boards.