2014 French Open Men’s Final Open Thread: Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic
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For the third straight year Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic meet at the French Open. This will be their second clash in the championship match after Nadal denied the Serb in 2012 in a 2-day, 4-set win.
Nadal leads 22-19 in their head-to-head and 8-3 in the Grand Slams.
Djokovic has won their last 4 meetings but Nadal has won their last 3 Grand Slam meetings and all 4 of their previous encounters at Roland Garros.
This is their 7th meeting in a Grand Slam final, with the 2 players tied at 3-3 in major finals. Djokovic won at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011 and at the 2012 Australian Open, while Nadal won at the 2010 US Open, 2012 Roland Garros and the 2013 US Open.
This is the 42nd meeting between Djokovic and Nadal. This is the most matches played in a head-to-head at Tour-level in the Open Era.
ITF NOTES
Defending champion NADAL is bidding to become the first man in history to win 5 consecutive Roland Garros titles. While no player has won 5 successive Roland Garros titles, there have been 9 occurrences across the other 3 majors (see table overleaf).
Nadal is bidding to extend the record he set at 2013 Roland Garros and become the first man in history to win 9 titles at any Grand Slam event. He is the only player to have won 8 Grand Slam titles at one event.
Nadal is bidding to extend his all-time record to 9 Roland Garros singles titles. He currently heads the Roland Garros title leaders list, with 2 more titles than Bjorn Borg.
Nadal is looking to win his 14th Grand Slam title and equal Pete Sampras on the list of all-time Grand Slam title holders. He is currently 3rd on the list behind Roger Federer (17) and Sampras (14).
If Nadal wins his 9th Roland Garros crown, to add to his 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open, 2010 and 2013 US Open titles, he would become the 2nd youngest man in history to win 14 Grand Slam titles after Roger Federer. Nadal will be 28 years, 5 days old on the final day of the tournament.
At the 2010 US Open, Nadal became the 7th man in history to win all 4 Grand Slam titles. He was the 3rd-youngest in history and the youngest man in the Open Era, to do so.
This is Nadal’s 20th Grand Slam final. He has a 13-6 win-loss record in Grand Slam finals but has never lost in the final here.
DJOKOVIC is bidding to win his 7th Grand Slam title and complete the career Grand Slam.
Djokovic is looking to become just the 8th man – and 5th youngest – in history to complete the career Grand Slam after Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, today’s opponent and Fred Perry. He is one of 11 men to have collected 3 of the 4 major titles in the Open Era.
Of the 7 men to possess a career Grand Slam, 4 of them ‘completed the set’ at Roland Garros: Perry in 1935, Budge in 1938, Agassi in 1999 and Federer in 2009.
Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam title that Djokovic has not won. He has won titles at the Australian Open in 2008 (d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga), 2011 (d. Andy Murray), 2012 (d. today’s opponent and 2013
(d. Murray), 2011 Wimbledon (d. today’s opponent), and the 2011 US Open (d. today’s opponent). This is his 38th consecutive appearance at a Grand Slam.
Djokovic is bidding to win his 7th Grand Slam singles title and move into joint-13th place for the most majors won with the other 8 men who have won 7 Grand Slam titles in history – Henri Cochet, Rene Lacoste, William Larned, John McEnroe, John Newcombe, William Renshaw, Richard Sears and Mats Wilander.
Djokovic is bidding to win his 7th Grand Slam title and join John McEnroe and Mats Wilander in joint-8th place on the list for most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.
If Djokovic wins his 7th Grand Slam title at 2014 Roland Garros he will be the 4th oldest player to win 7 titles at the Grand Slams in the Open Era.
SUNDAY FRENCH OPEN SCHEDULE
Court Philippe Chatrier 12:00 PM Start
1. Women’s Doubles – Final
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)[1] vs. Sara Errani (ITA)[2]
Shuai Peng (CHN)[1] Roberta Vinci (ITA)[2]
Not Before: 3:00 pm
2. Men’s Singles – Final
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[2]
WEATHER.COM SUNDAY PARIS FORECAST
Lots of sunshine. Warm. High 81F. Winds light and variable.
WILLIAM HILL ODDS
Rafael Nadal 1.73 v Novak Djokovic 2.20
US TV SCHEDULE
NBC will have live coverage of the men’s final starting at 9am ET.
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