Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

? asked in SportsTennis · 8 years ago

Will Nole complete his "Clay Court Grand Slam Outrun" of Nadal?

Djokovic has already beaten Nadal in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. Do you think that he can finally beat Nadal at Roland Garros to complete a clay court major outrun of Nadal and become the one and only to do so?

8 Answers

Relevance
  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Here we are at the end of all of the preliminary tournaments which lead up to Roland Garros . . . what have we learned about the 2013 clay court season?

    We have learned that beyond the Big 4, we can look forward to Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Benoit Paire, Jerzy Janowicz, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Stanislas Wawrinka really bringing their best games to the French Open fortnight as they have been really exciting to watch the last six weeks!

    Also note that Andy Murray, Jo Wilfred Tsonga, Juan Martin Del Potro, Janko Tipsarevic or any male player from America are likely NOT going to be playing into the fourth round of Roland Garros.

    Lastly, give Novak Djokovic his trophy from the Academy of Dramatic Arts . . . he has really been quite entertaining! The Djoker shows up at Monte Carlo supposedly hobbled by a sprained ankle and gallops his way to an easy victory over Rafael Nadal in the final, to break Nadal's 46-match win streak at the tournament and end his 8-consecutive title run . . . and then, nothing . . . he loses to Dimitrov in Madrid & then to Berdych in Rome . . . all the while blaming it on his fictitious "bad ankle" . . .

    Tennis watchers . . . Do Not Be Fooled!

    Novak Djokovic is perfectly fine & is doing double-duty as a poor soap opera actor. Nole has one goal in mind for the 2013 clay court season & that is his Holy Grail . . . completing his Career Grand Slam (& winning the second leg of the 2013 Calendar Grand Slam) . . .

    He served notice to his only obstacle (Nadal) to the French Crown by winning in Monte Carlo and has been playing possum ever since because he doesn't want Rafa to get used to his aggressive style of play he presented in Monaco.

    Djokovic doesn't care if Nadal wins every clay court tournament on the calendar . . . except one . . . the all-important French Open . . . which is the only thing missing from his collection and of course, that elusive thing that both Federer & Nadal already have . . . tennis immortality.

    The Djoker is soooooo sly, isn't he?

  • 8 years ago

    After watching them play at Monte Carlo this year, i would of said, yes, he certainly can, but after watching Djokovic lose to Dimitrov and Berdych in Madrid and Rome respectively, and Nadal going on to win both those tournaments relatively comfortably, despite some difficult tests, he came through strong, i really don't see anyone beating Nadal at Roland Garros this year, especially not in a 5 set match, However, i think he can do it in a couple of years, If Djokovic's level on clay improves a bit more, and Nadal's comes down, which it inevitably will and already is, then Djokovic will have a great chance to complete a "Clay Court Grand Slam Outrun" over him.

  • 8 years ago

    People can point to Nadal's recent triumphs and say no, but the fact remains that Djokovic won his only match against Nadal since Nadal's return in straight sets. I believe he has a playstyle that works effectively against Nadal, and so if he goes against Nadal at Roland Garros I would give 50-50 odds.

    The only problem is that Nadal is much more consistent on clay, and so it is much more likely for Novak to be knocked out by a surprise player than for the same to happen to Nadal. But if they play, I say it's 50-50.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    In all honestly like you a year ago, I was wondering if he was ever going to win another grand slam after his first win at the 2008 Australian Open, and now i'm so happy that he has finally realized his potential. But I never imagined that he could achieve the success that he has like the 43 match winning streak and winning three of the four grand slams in one year. For a long time I thought the the best he could do was just win the Australian Open and US Open, so I'm so happy that he's also won Wimbledon. His performance in last night's final was pretty impressive, as was Nadal's who you have to give credit for clawing his way back all the way to 4-2 up in the final set, which I don't think many other (or possibly any other) players could have done. Novak looked exhausted but somehow found the strength to go on, which is what impressed me the most because I don't think the old Novak would have lasted this long. So congrats to Novak for winning his fifth grand slam :) BQ: Yes very :) Novak really deserved it but it really could have gone either way, and congrats to Nadal too for playing so well. Its a shame that both couldn't win because both players really did deserve to win the title in my opinion. BQ1: I think Djokovic can win at least one more slam (most likely the US Open) but if he can continue to play well and stay healthy then I think he could win more, although I still think its a bit too early to tell. BQ2: I'm not sure to be honest but "One Thing" by One Direction is really starting to grow on me.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Let's look at this.

    Two of the three matches you mentioned where Novak beat Rafa, were two years ago. I don't think it's accurate to compare those matches to this year.

    Novak did beat Rafa this year in Monte Carlo pretty badly. Nadal only got two games off him in the first set. Don't forget this was Nadal's first tournament back since he won Indian Wells. He might not have been used to the conditions of the clay court yet. Remember her did not play very well throughout that tournament.

    The past two tournaments, Madrid and Rome, were kind of interesting. Djokovic loosing in some surprising matches. First in Madrid to Dimitrov in a close-ish three-setter. Nadal won in a close three setter earlier in the year, at Monte Carlo when he wasn't playing very well. Djokovic played very poorly in Madrid. Nadal didn't play well until the final; he really stepped up his game against Warinka.

    In Rome, Nadal seemed to start off slowly, in two three-setters against Ferrer and Gulbis. Who Ferrer seemed to step up his game as Nadal pressed on the breaks a little bit. He squeezed through that match in the quarters. But Gulbis had always taken Nadal to three sets; every time the two have played Nadal has won in three. So that match was expected to go in Nadal's favor, but it would be a tough match. Nadal seemed to play pretty seamless in the semis and finals, winning both matches very comfortably.

    Djokovic on the other hand started the tournament very strong winning all his matches in two sets, until the quarters where he lost in three. He didn't seem to be very fit and ready to win. Berdych has lost the past few times her played Novak. Why did he suddenly win now?

    Novak hasn't been playing like he played in 2012 and 2011. Rafa has been playing okay, but better as he goes farther into tournaments. I think he's close to his full potential.

    We'll see who takes the trophy home.

  • 8 years ago

    If anyone can stop Nadal at the French Open, its going to be Djokovic. He has the ability to beat Nadal easily on clay. last year it was 2 sets, this year in monte carlo its 2 sets.

  • 8 years ago

    It's a possibility, because he matches up well against Nadal and gets inside Nadal's head at times. But first things first, he has to get to the semi-final or final first, which isn't a guarantee due to his recent upset losses on clay .

  • Jke
    Lv 5
    8 years ago

    he could but he has to improve from recent form.djokovic right now looks like the djokovic who was number 3 for years

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.