US Open Men’s Final Open Thread: Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal
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The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in the world, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will play for the 2013 US Open men’s title later today at 5pm. The two rivals meet for a record 37th time with the Spaniard leading 21-15 including 7-3 in Grand Slam match play.
This will be their third US Open final meeting: 2010 (Nadal in four sets) and 2011 (Djokovic in four sets). The winner will earn a second US Open title and become the ninth player in the Open Era with at least two titles. This will be the 34th time in the past 35 Grand Slam tournaments (since 2005 Roland Garros), one of the Big 4 has won a Slam crown. The only exception came at the ‘09 US Open where Juan Martin del Potro won the title. During this span, Federer has won 13 titles, Nadal 12, Djokovic 6 and Murray 2.
It will also be the 12th time in the past 15 Grand Slam tournaments (since 2010 Roland Garros), either Djokovic or Nadal will earn a Grand Slam title. Nadal has won six titles and Djokovic five during that stretch.
This is the 12th US Open final in the Open Era with the top two seeds meeting and the No. 2 seed has won six of the previous 11 meetings. Two years ago, No. 1 Djokovic beat No. 2 Nadal in the final. The 18 combined Grand Slam titles won by the duo is the most in a final here since 2002 when Pete Sampras (13) d. Andre Agassi (7).
(1) NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SRB) vs. (2) RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)
Head-to-head: Nadal Leads 21-15
Djokovic is appearing in his third major final of the season for the third consecutive year. It is the 26-year-old Serb’s fourth straight US Open final and fifth overall (1-3). He is the first player to reach four finals in a row here since Roger Federer advanced to six straight from 2004-09 (winning five). Djokovic is making his 12th overall appearance in a Grand Slam final (6-5 record) and 10th in the past 13 Grand Slams (5-4 in finals). He comes into the final with a 50-8 match record this season, including an ATP World Tour-high 31 match wins on hard courts. He is 3-3 in finals.
Nadal is making his 18th career Grand Slam final showing (12-5 record) and a title will move the Spaniard to No. 3 on the all-time Grand Slam titles list (behind Federer 17, Sampras 14). He comes in with a career-best 21-match winning streak on hard courts and an overall ATP World Tour-best record of 59-3 this season. He is appearing in a final for the 12th time in 13 tournaments (9-2 record in finals) this year. He won a career-high 11 titles in 2005. The 27-year-old Spaniard has only been broken once and he has dropped one set en route to his third US Open final, holding 81 of 82 service games. Nadal is also 16-1 vs. Top 10 opponents this season, beating eight different Top 10 foes (has not played Murray). He is trying to capture his 60th career title.
MONDAY US OPEN SCHEDULE
Arthur Ashe Stadium 5:00 pm Start Time
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
BET AT HOME ODDS
Rafael Nadal 1.60 v Novak Djokovic 2.10
WEATHERUNDERGROUND NEW YORK FORECAST
Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 75F. Winds from the East at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the SSE in the afternoon. Monday night mostly cloudy. Low of 68F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.
U.S. TELEVISION
CBS will air the final live at 5pm ET. ESPN2 or Tennis Channel could pick up the match if goes later then 8pm and CBS no longer wants to air it.
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