Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – Round Robin Preview: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2011
Now what could be a better treat than watching two of the greatest legends in the game battling it out one-on-one in the circuit ending grand finale, the Barclays ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Finals. Two
former world number one players, Rafael Nadal of Spain and the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, will compete in the battle of supremacy in their second Round Robin clash of Group B, on Tuesday night.
The highly anticipated contest will be staged on the glorious O2 Arena in London, with two of the greatest names in the sport labouring to strengthen their chances for the semi-finals. The two super stars have won their opening
matches in tight three-setters and an absolute blinder is expected from the two on Tuesday night.
This is the first time in their 26th meeting that none of these players is the ranked as the world number one. Being a part of the tennis greatest rivalry of all times, Federer-Nadal matches are always believed to be
a treat for every tennis fans all over the globe. The two veterans have a total of 26 Grand Slam titles among them (Federer 16 and Nadal following on 10) and their encounters are credited nothing less than a clash of the titans.
Winner of five ATP World Tour Finals titles, Federer will be stepping on the court as the hot favourite defending champion. The Swiss maestro has been struggling in most of the 2011 ATP season but was finally seen to have got in
his vintage form towards the end of the circuit. Federer is 60-12 in the current season, with three championship titles to his name, two of which came immediately before the season ending mega event. He defended his title at the Swiss Indoors Basel and then
went on to clinch the last ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, a week before coming to London.
World number four had a tough contest with the belligerent Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the opening match in the Round Robin but eventually over came him to stand tall. Tsonga was the one who outplayed Federer on two straight
occasions earlier in the running year. Federer believes his victory over the sixth ranked Tsonga in his very first match is a good omen for him and he will be carrying on his winning impetus against the world number two, Nadal, in the next clash as well.
Nadal, whose dominance in the game have been torn apart by the reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic this year, is having a 67-13 winning record for the season. Three championship titles have been secured by the Spaniard, including
the all-prestigious Roland Garros as well.
Nadal leads 17-8 over Federer, something unbelievable for a Swiss tennis fan, and is riding a three-match winning streak over the fourth seed as well. They both have faced on three different occasions this year and the second ranked
Spaniard has been successful in all the three occurrences.
Federer leads Nadal 4-3 on hard courts and it is anticipated that the defending champion will hunt down the Spanish King of Clay on Tuesday night. Nadal has never won an ATP World Tour Finals title in his career, while Federer
is up for the sixth time in his 10 appearances. A three setter is predicted with Federer winning in the final set tie breaker round.
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