French Open Men’s Final Open Thread: Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic
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And we are down to two men left in the 2012 French Open: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
2012 Roland Garros marks the 111th edition of the French Championships and the 82nd tournament since the event became international in 1925. It is also the 177th Grand Slam tournament of the Open Era, the first of which was 1968 Roland Garros, making this the 45th French Open.
The champion receives €1,250,000 in prize money, while the runner-up collects €625,000. In total, the men’s singles prize fund for 2012 Roland Garros is €6,555,000, an 8.7% increase on 2011. The winner is also awarded 2000 ATP ranking points, with the runner-up receiving 1200.
Novak Djokovic will retain his world No. 1 ranking whatever the outcome of today’s final. If Rafael Nadal loses today he will drop to No. 3 and Roger Federer will move to No. 2 when the ATP World Tour Rankings are released on Monday 11 June.
This is the 4th consecutive Grand Slam final to feature Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, which is an Open Era record. They set a record at the 2012 Australian Open when they met in the final for the 3rd consecutive time. Nadal is bidding to avoid becoming the first man to lose 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals in the Open Era.
For the 4th Grand Slam tournament in a row, the Top 2 seeds have reached the final. The last time the Top 2 reached the final here was in 2008 when No. 2 Nadal defeated No. 1 Roger Federer.
In Grand Slam Open Era meetings between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, the No. 2 seed has a 20-18 win-loss record.
NO. 1 NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SRB) v NO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)
Head-to-head: Nadal leads 18-14
Today marks the 15th Djokovic v Nadal tournament final, moving them into joint-5th place for the most meetings in a final in the Open Era. Nadal has a 49-21 win-loss record in finals, Djokovic 30-16. Nadal and Djokovic go head-to-head for the 5th time in a Grand Slam final, putting them in joint-3rd for the most meetings between 2 players in a Grand Slam final.
Nadal ended a 7-match losing streak against Djokovic with victory in the final at Monte Carlo-1000 earlier this year.
Their last Grand Slam meeting in the final at this year’s Australian Open lasted 5 hours 53 minutes and was the longest men’s Grand Slam final on record in terms of duration.
Djokovic is through to his 4th consecutive Grand Slam final and Nadal is through to his 5th straight Grand Slam final. Roger Federer holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam final appearances having reached 10 back-to-back finals from 2005 Wimbledon through the 2007 US Open.
Top seed DJOKOVIC is bidding to become the 3rd man in history to complete a non-calendar year Grand Slam. Only Don Budge and Rod Laver have held all 4 titles at the same time.
Budge completed his non-calendar year Grand Slam at 1938 Roland Garros before going on to win the calendar Grand Slam by winning all 4 major tournaments in a single year in 1938. Laver won all 4 majors in 1962 and 1969 – his win at the 1962 US Open completed his set of major titles.
Djokovic is looking to become just the 8th man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. At 25 years 19 days, Djokovic would be the 4th-youngest ever, and the 2nd-youngest man in the Open Era, to do so.
Djokovic is currently on a 27-match Grand Slam winning streak – his longest-ever winning streak at the majors. This puts him in joint-2nd place on the list of longest Grand Slam winning streaks in the Open Era behind Rod Laver’s 29.
Defending champion NADAL is bidding to become the first man in history to win 7 titles here. Chris Evert is the only player – man or woman – to have won 7 titles at Roland Garros.
Nadal is bidding to equal Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver and win his 11th Grand Slam title. In Grand Slam history, 3 players have won more titles – Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).
If Nadal wins today he would become the 3rd-youngest man in history to win 11 Grand Slam titles after Borg and Federer. The Spaniard will be 26 years 7 days old on the final day of the tournament,
Nadal is bidding to avoid becoming the first man in the Open Era to lose 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals. He has lost to Djokovic in his last 3 Grand Slam final appearances.
SUNDAY FRENCH OPEN SCHEDULE
Court Philippe Chatrier 3:00 PM Start Time
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 AM Start Time
1. Men’s Legends Over 45
Guy Forget (FRA) v. John McEnroe (USA)
Henri Leconte (FRA) Patrick McEnroe (USA)
2. Men’s Legends Under 45 – 4th Round
Thomas Enqvist (SWE) v. Albert Costa (ESP)
Todd Woodbridge (AUS) Carlos Moya (ESP)
Court 2 11:00 AM Start Time
1. Boys’ Singles – Finals
Filip Peliwo (CAN)[5] v. Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)[6]
2. Girls’ Singles – Finals
Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) v. Annika Beck (GER)[2]
LADBROKES ODDS
Novak Djokovic 11/4 v Rafael Nadal 3/10
WEATHERUNDERGROUND SUNDAY PARIS FORECAST
Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 64F. Winds from the SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
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