US Open Men's Final Preview

And we have finally reached the end to an another exiting grandslam tournament. Though the tournament was full of surprises, with exiting upsets and some inspirational run, the finalists are the top 2 seeds, though they deserved it more than anyone else. Here is a pre-look onto what one can expect in the men’s final of US Open 2013.

Novak Djokovic’s road to final :
defeated R. Berankis 6-1 6-2 6-2
defeated B Becker 7-6 6-2 6-2
defeated J Sousa 6-0 6-2 6-2
defeated M Granollers 6-3 6-0 6-0
defeated M Youzhny 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-0
defeated Wawrinka 2-6 7-6 3-6 6-3 6-4

Novak Djokovic has been at his usual best. He had no trouble whatsoever passing through the initial rounds of the tournament. His complete trashing of Granollers justified his form peeking at the right moment. But it was finally in quarter-finals and later semi-finals that he was finally tested. His match against Wawrinka consisted of high-voltage tennis, with both of them playing out their heart. Fortunately for Djokovic, it was him who was finally victorious, even though both himself and Wawrinka had won the same no of points.

Rafael Nadal’s road to final :

defeated R. Harrison 6-4 6-2 6-2
R. Dutra Silva 6-2 6-1 6-0
defeated P Kolhschrieber 6-7 6-4 6-3 6-1
defeated T Robredo 6-0 6-2 6-2
defeatd R Gasquet 6-4 7-6 6-2

Nadal has been ruthless in this hard-court season. Being un-defeated for this complete hard-court season, winning two masters series on the way, just shows his remarkable comeback after his long-injury layoff. After his first round loss at the wimbledon, everyone had written him off, saying that his days in non-clay courts are over and he must concentrate only in the clay-court season. But he slapped critics right on their face with his excellent tennis demonstration. His way to the final has been smooth, losing just one set in the entire tournament. The very fact that he has been broken just once in the tournament shows how well he has improved in his serves. He even dispatched his semi-final opponent with ease, overcoming him in straight sets. Mind you, Gasquet was completely up-beat and he was playing his best tennis.

What to expect : In recent times, there has never been a match as gruelling as a Nadal-Djokovic one. Both excellent base-liners, both of them give out their 100% in the match. The most famous among them was the 2012 AO final, wherein both were so tired after the match that they were allowed to sit for the major part of the presentation ceremony. Their most recent GS meeting, at the semi-finals of the Roland Garros, also demonstrated their gladiator-type tennis.
Now coming into the final, both are in the best of their form, but Nadal looks in better shape. Djokovic was stretch by a resurgent Wawrinka, who trashed Murray in the quarterfinals. Whereas Nadal’s road to the finals has been smoother one, just losing one set on the way. Both of them have faced-off 36 times, with Nadal having an advantage of 21-15.
Now both Nadal and Djokovic have similar strengths- Groundstrokes and Mental strength. So it is right to say that it is going to be a battle of equals. It is hard to determine who will have an upper-hand coming into the final, and it is even harder to say who will win. But all I can say is Monday night is gonna be one hell of a night for tennis fans.

My Take : Hard to say, but definitely a 5- setter.