Djokovic Favoured To Beat Nadal In Wimbledon 2011 Final

Djokovic Favoured To Beat Nadal In Wimbledon 2011 Final Image

Rafael Nadal has already lost his number one ranking to Novak Djokovic ahead of the clash in the Wimbledon 2011 man's final.

The Spaniard will be wary of losing the match as well to his Serbian rival, who has been in imperious form this year, losing just one match against 50 matches won.

The last time these players met was at the Campionati Internazionali d'Italia, in May, when Djokovic won in straight sets, following up on his win against Nadal at Madrid the previous month.

Djokovic began the clay court season, earlier this year, with a title win in the Serbian Open, and followed it up with wins at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid and the Campionati Internazionali d'Italia.

Then came the French Open and the Serbian star appeared set for a showdown in the final, with Nadal, when Roger Federer upset the applecart by beating Djokovic in the semi-finals, thereby recording the Serbian's only loss this year.

Virtually every player of note has met and lost to Djokovic this year. The list of players Novak has vanquished reads like a veritable who's who of tennis: Adrian Ungur, Blaz Kavcic, Janko Tipsarevic, Feliciano Lopez, Kevin Anderson, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, David Ferrer, Thomaz Bellucci, Lukasz Kubot, Stanislas Wawrinka, Robin Soderling, Andy Murray, Thiemo De Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro, Richard Gasquet, Fabio Fognini, Jeremy Chardy, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, Michael Llodra, Bernard Tomic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have all fallen prey to Djokovic's guiles on court, the last six at this year's Wimbledon.

Nadal has risen to the occasion, whenever required, without always having played his best tennis. The sign of a champion is the ability to play the important points well, and no player, Federer included, has matched Nadal, who won the French Open, despite admitting that he wasn't playing well enough.

At Wimbledon, Nadal has virtually strolled to the final, dropping just 3 sets in 6 matches, one each in his last three matches with Murray, Fish and del Potro.

PLAYER COMPARISON CHARTS

Player Track Record Comparison

Parameter Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal
ATP Ranking 2 1
Grand Slams Won 3 10
Head to Head 10 17
Country Serbia Spain

Biographic Comparison

Parameter Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal
Date of Birth May 22, 1987 Jun 3, 1986
Height 188 cm 185 cm
Weight 80 kg 85 kg
Plays Right Left

A year younger than Nadal, Djokovic has lived under the shadow of Nadal and Federer, during the last few years, and his three Grand Slams won don't speak eloquently enough of his ability.

Djokovic has in recent times managed to free himself from Nadal's psychological stranglehold, as he proved at Madrid and Rome, earlier this year. And that more than anything else will prove his best ally, against the Spaniard, on Sunday.

Prediction: Djokovic to win in four sets.