The season finale at O2 Arena London enters its second day on Monday. Two round robin stage matches for Group A were scheduled for the day where Czech Tomas Berdych already met Serb Novak Djokovic in the afternoon and the much anticipated matchup of Spaniard
Rafael Nadal and American Andy Roddick in the evening.
The anticipation for the match is not so much for Nadal against Roddick but for the fact that fans get to see Rafa in action after a long break. The world number one Spaniard has been missing from tennis since his exit from Shanghai Masters in early October.
He was expected to play in the BNP Paribas Masters two weeks ago but was forced to pull out due to an injury to his left shoulder.
Fully recovered from the injury, Nadal comes into the event with high hopes of bettering his record at the end of the year championships. Although he holds all four Grand Slams plus an Olympic medal, a championship title at this event has long eluded him.
He has made it twice to the semi finals in 2006 and 2007, although on both occasions he fell to Roger Federer in straight sets. In 2008 he announced his withdrawal from the event citing a knee injury. His most humiliating performance at the event came last
year when he failed to win a single set in the round robin stage exiting with a 0-6 record. However, the in-form Spaniard has had a superb season this year and hopes to finish it off with a championship here. Although his victory against Roddick is not a sure
shot win, the odds of him winning are still in his favour.
Nadal has managed to bag seven titles this year three of which are Grand Slams. Turning the tables on Federer this year, Rafa lifted the trophy at the Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Winning at Madrid, Rome and Monte Carlo Nadal has three Masters’
events under his belt. He enjoys an impressive win loss mark of 67-9 this season. Although the track record speaks volume about Rafa’s form this season and may very well be pointing to a clear cut winner in him, defeating Roddick might not be as easy as the
records suggest.
Even though Roddick has only two titles to his name and a win loss mark of 48-15 this season, the American has been somewhat better at tennis lately. He managed to make it to the semis in Basel and the quarterfinals in the BNP Paribas Masters. The former
world number one has been unable to make it back to the top since the Federer-Nadal hegemony though he has been consistent in his rankings finishing his eighth year in the top 10.
Although Roddick has failed to defeat any Top 10 player this season other than on American soil, it cannot be overlooked that he did win one over the Spaniard in their only 2010 meeting at the Miami Masters. It remains to be seen whether it was the home
court advantage or the fact that the American is better when it comes to hard surfaces. While Roddick is better than the Spaniard when playing on cement, Nadal has recently proved that clay is not his only dominion. Winning at both lawn and hard court events
this year, the Spaniard can be expected to excel.
This will be the pair’s ninth meeting on the courts with their head-to-head score resting at 5-3 in Nadal’s favour. Although the Spaniard has won more matches their hard court record rests at close 3-2 in the American’s favour. Speaking solely on numbers,
one can predict a Spanish win since Nadal excels both in form and wins this season. However, it would be unwise to completely dismiss the American. The former world number one has the experience advantage and might have a few tricks up his sleeve. Either way
the match promises to be nothing short of classic.
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