Mutua Madrid Open 2017 Preview: Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Battle No. 50 for Nadal and Djokovic! 

We’re well into the clay-court season now, with the woes continuing for World No. 1 Andy Murray, who saw a Round of 16 loss to Croat ace Borna Coric at the Round of 16. Coric is no slouch on clay and has beaten Murray before – this time, several called Coric, a member of the ATP NextGen, the superior player for the match. Either way, a 6-3, 6-3 loss doesn’t really portend well for the top-ranked player. 

Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal has continued his wondrous run of form in 2017 and is cementing further and further his position as clay-court GOAT. The 30-year-old raced to a miracle Australian Open final, losing an epic to Roger Federer this year, and to say he is in the form of his life would be an absolute understatement. 

After several La Decimas, Nadal will aim for a fifth title here – he holds the record for four, the highest of all time at the venue, so an additional win would extend his own record – and it’s quite likely given how he’s beeen playing.

The Djokovic-Nadal rivalry too is one for the ages, with the Spaniard and the Serbian former No. 1s  having played out 49 matches in the past so far – a record that leans only slightly in favour of the Serbian at 26-23. 

Nadal is the GOAT on clay but until last year, Djokovic was the “greatest clay court player to have never won a Grand Slam.” To say he’d be an easy competitor on the surface would be naive. 

Interestingly, the last time these two played each other was at the 2016 Rome Masters – on clay last year – with Djokovic winning in straight sets. The Serbian has not had the best year – but now having fired his entire squad, could he see a positive change? He had a quicker route to the semis than Nadal with Nishikori withdrawing – so he’s also had an extra bit of rest! 

 Nadal is the only player to have achieved the Clay Slam – the only player to win all three clay court Masters 1000 tournaments and the lone clay court grand slam tournament in a calendar year. 

This may not necessarily be an easy contest, but we could give this one to Nadal given his form alone.