RICKY’S PICKS AND PREVIEWS OF THE ATP BARCLAYS WORLD TENNIS TOUR FINALS! SEMIS: NOLE DJOKOVIC VS. RAFA NADAL

Written by: Staff on 20th November 2015

RICKY'S PICKS AND PREVIEWS OF THE ATP BARCLAYS WORLD TENNIS TOUR FINALS! SEMIS: NOLE DJOKOVIC VS. RAFA NADAL

epa05028846 Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka during their singles Ilie Nastase group match of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 16 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be squaring off for the 46th time in their careers when they collide in the World Tour Finals semis on Saturday afternoon.

Interestingly, Djokovic has a chance to level his head-to-head series against both Nadal and Federer this weekend–the latter in a potential title match. The world No. 1 is 22-23 lifetime in his rivalry with Nadal, but the margin has become increasingly closer on a consistent basis. Djokovic has won all three of their meetings in 2015 and seven of their last eight overall. He is 15-6 at Nadal’s expense on hard courts, including 3-2 indoors and 2-1 at the O2 Arena.

“We (have) played so many times,” Djokovic assured. “I’m going to get ready for that one and hopefully I’ll be able to play at my best.”

Djokovic’s best has been on display almost entirely throughout what will go down as a dominant and historic 2015 campaign, which features three Grand Slam titles. During round-robin action this week, however, the top seed did not showcase the same level. After crushing Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, Djokovic lost to Roger Federer 7-5, 6-2 and underwhelmed in a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Tomas Berdych on Thursday night.

Aside from his two most recent matches, however, there is little to dislike regarding Djokovic’s chances heading into championship weekend. He is 80-6 for the season and is the three-time defending champion of this event.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 19 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Nadal has never won the year-end championship, but he has already done something this week that he had only accomplished once previously in his career. For the first time since 2010, the fifth-ranked Spaniard compiled a perfect 3-0 record in group competition. He drubbed Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, rolled over Andy Murray 6-4, 6-1, and outlasted David Ferrer 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 on Friday afternoon.

“He’s been playing better and he’s been raising his level ever since (the) U.S. Open,” Djokovic assessed. “In China, playing finals in Beijing, semifinals in Shanghai…you can feel that he’s starting to get comfortable on the court, [starting] to play better.”

As well has Nadal has played, the relatively suddenly improvement in form is more likely to pay eventual dividends in 2016 than on Saturday against the toughest of opponents. Facing Djokovic on an indoor hard court–even a slow one–is simply not a good matchup for the 14-time major champion. Having spent two hours and 37 minutes on the court with Ferrer, while Djokovic had the day off, also will not help.

As Nadal said of his opponent, “All the positive things are for him.”

Pick: Djokovic in 2

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, ATP Finals, London, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, World Tour Finals

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10sBalls_com says:

November 20, 2015 at 12:08 pm

-@Dimonator’s Picks And Previews Of The #ATP Barclays #WorldTourFinals! Semis: @DjokerNole vs. @RafaelNadal
https://t.co/4XCNXPQxKt #tennis