Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal
France, Paris. 11.06.2021
In the semifinals of the men's Roland Garros, world number one Novak Djokovic will face world number three Rafa Nadal. In the last couple of seasons, there has been a clear division of spheres of influence between the men: Djokovic has consistently beaten Nadal on the hardcourt, while the Spaniard has confidently beaten the Serb on the mainland.
Novak Djokovic: problems in the 1/8 finals
Novak Djokovic played the first three rounds at Roland Garros and did not lose a single set, knocking out Sandgren, Cuevas, and Berankis. But the Serb began to have problems in the 1/8 finals of the WG. Apparently, the world number one underestimated Lorenzo Musetti, the 76th ranked player in the world. After two sets the Italian was leading 2-0, beating Novak on two tie-breaks. If Roland Garros had played to two wins, Novak would already be a spectator, but in Grand Slam tournaments, as we know, you have to win three games against your opponent to make it to the next round. It felt like Musettiforgot about that and only set up for the opening two games because, in the third set, there was nothing left of Musetti's former leap of faith. 6-1, 6-0, 4-0, Musetti didn't even finish the match. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic was stronger than Berrettini, 3-1.
Rafael Nadal: 10-match winning streak
After losing in Madrid to Zverev, Nadal won 10 matches in a row. First, in Rome, where he triumphed, beating Djokovic in the final. After that, Rafa won five consecutive matches at Roland Garros. In the quarter-finals, in a match against Schwartzman, the «king of the ground» lost for the first time. Before the match against the Argentine, Rafa had beaten his opponents exclusively 3-0: Popyrin, Gasquet, Norrie, and Sinner. Separately, we note that Rafa is quoted as a big favorite in the pair and the odds on the Spaniard continue to fall.
Betting and prediction
The days when Novak beat Rafa on the ground are over. The Serb cannot beat the Spaniard on the ground courts since 2016, more than five years. We believe that this trend will continue, and Nadal will beat the first racquet of the world again, if I may say so, «on his own turf». We hope that this time it will not be like the last time when Djokovic and Nadal fought each other only in the third set. And in the first two sets, Novak took only two games. We offer the following bets for the game: W1+TO 4.5 for 1.952, TO 36.5 for 1.83, W1 for 3.10.
Other predictions
