10th June 2012, the day we had all been anxiously waiting for, and I can say that for all the tennis lovers out there and then rain came tumbling down to wash away our anticipation. Rafael Nadal faces his arch nemesis Novak Djokovic in a nerve-racking Roland Garros Final today as rain postponed the match last Sunday. As much as this final was a thriller for those of us watching it, we can’t help but wonder how these two champions will be taking it. Babolat, the choice of World No. 2 Rafael Nadal promises him a clean win on the clay court; after all, there is no denying he owns the ground the moment he steps on it.
For Novak aka Joker, it is harder to decide. While he played superbly last night taking Roger Federer in a straight set win sending the former World No.1 home in a somewhat humiliating manner. Yet it could be said this time at Roland Garros, Novak is not shining as most of us thought he would. The World No.1 who is vying to make history this year at the French Open 2012 has not been in form. This time, we can blame his nerves for making him well nervous on the court. For one, his win today will make him one of three men in history to have won all major grand slams in the same year. The last time it happened it was 43 years ago. Yep, Novak, we don’t blame you for the silly mistakes you’ve been making on court lately.
Nadal too will take immense help from his only companion on court, Babolat, to prove to Joker, this game is meant for the King to win. Although Babolat is there to ease his control and enhance his speed on court, but even we know he needs much more to calm his nerves when facing the Joker. Did we not see the battle that went down between World No.1 Djokovic and No.2 Nadal this January at the Australian Open? This time Nadal is not only defending his Kingdom but is here to create history like his nemesis: to become the first man to win seven French Opens in his Tennis career and breaking the record of six French Open titles he shares with Bjorn Borg.
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