Not for the first time this season, nor probably the last, a Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal tennis final betting is on the cards. The ATP Tour 100 event in Rome is the setting for this next episode in this titanic struggle, which is a repeat of last weekend’s final in Madrid. The big factor about this is looking at the challenge which is now being posed to world number one Rafael Nadal. For so long he has looked immense, and when he has stepped out on to clay, he has looked even better. No-one has really been able to touch him on clay, but there is a definite shift of power in 2011 and that is because Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has hit his true potential. Let’s just look at this year alone. The two power houses have met three times already this year, with Djokovic winning them all. There was the win in three sets at Indian Wells, followed by another three set battle in Miami, followed by the most recent meeting in Madrid, which Djokovic won in straight sets. Some significant stats surrounding that victory in Madrid for the Serbian star, was that Rafael’s long unbeaten run on Clay, finally came to an end. Nadal’s record fell at 37 unbeaten matches, but back in Novak Djokovic’s court, that was his 34th straight victory (on all surfaces). Perhaps significantly as well, that was the first time which Djokovic had beaten Nadal on clay. Djokovic has not lost a match this year. He has won everything that he has entered, including the breeze in the final of the Australian Open over Andy Murray.
It was against Andy Murray that Djokovic had to scrap his way past to reach the final of Rome. Murray had a couple of match points, but Djokovic hung in there like a true champion. The head to head between the two players is interesting now, as Nadal leads 16-10, but Djokovic is closing the gap rapidly. Djokovic actually has the upper hand in the hard court head to head against Nadal, while the Spaniard still holds a fantastic 9-1 head to head record against Djokovic on clay. So while there is hot form coming from the Serbian, does it mean that Nadal is not worth backing in the ATP Rome final free tennis betting tips? Well, Nadal on clay is always worth a punt, and because of his decline in results against Djokovic, it means that he is a little bit better value than ever. He is still favourite in the tennis betting for the ATP Rome final, but not by as big of a margin as he would have been this time last year when he was sweeping all before him on clay. Nadal is still the best clay court player on the ATP Tour, don’t make any mistake about that, but Djokovic is gaining momentum and confidence. Nadal is still the man to beat in many respects of the game, and you would feel that it won’t be long before the Spaniard gets revenge over Djokovic. After reaching the semi finals in Rome, Nadal at least clung on to his world number one status, which is being hotly challenged by Djokovic. This second final on clay between the two giants will be an interesting one to note now, simply because the second Grand Slam of the season, the French Open at Roland Garros gets underway on May 22nd. Nadal holds the title there, but suddenly Djokovic looks a strong bet. One thing to take into consideration for your ATP Rome final tennis betting, is that Nadal was struggling with a bit of an illness ahead of the quarter final (where he actually turned up looking pretty sharp to beat Marin Cilic).
So what to make of the Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal ATP Rome Final tennis betting? Well, Nadal managed to hold off Richard Gasquet in the semi finals, while Djokovic had a tougher battle against Andy Murray. Nadal has only ever lost one match at this event, now with a record of 31 wins in 32 matches there, picking up the title five times there. As for Djokovic, he has also won here, just once in 2008, and has been a losing finalist here also (to Nadal). Not too surprisingly there hasn’t been too much trouble for either reaching the final here. The Djokovic v Murray match was by far the most competitive. But prior to that in the quarter finals, Djokovic flexed his muscles by completely obliterating fifth seed Robin Soderling. Interestingly, your Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic tennis betting at the bookies is still favouring Rafael Nadal. He is best priced to win at 4/9 with Bet365, while Djokovic is 2/1 at SkyBet. If the two players meet five times in clay court finals, you would still expect Rafael Nadal to win at least three of them. He couldn’t live with the Djokovic back hand in Madrid last weekend, but he will have learnt no doubt, it is a matter of whether or not his favoured cross court shots can batter through the Djokovic defence, or will Nadal come up with a new strategy? Basically, would tip Nadal, but value is on Djokovic.
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