Recap of the fiercest battles of 2012: Djokovic vs. Nadal – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
King of clay, Rafael Nadal, secured his eighth title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a clay court ATP tournament in Monaco. He managed to avenged his former loss from the higher ranked, Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 6-1, and became the
dominant champion.
In a post match interview Nadal said, “My feeling is I have much less to lose than him. I have everything to win. That's the most important thing. That's the only positive thing about losing seven times. The next matches, you only
have to win. You go to the match knowing that the normal thing is lose but trying the best to change situation. That's what I'm going to try. I always loved this tournament since I was a kid. One of my dreams was play here. It's a historic tournament (where)
you see all your idols when you are a kid playing here.”
The Spanish contender secured his 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. This match surely broke the Serbian winning monopoly and gave a break to Nadal after the 2011 Roland Garros Grand Slam Championship.
Previously, the reigning world number one, Djokovic, secured his win against Nadal at the hard courts of Melbourne at the Australian Open Grand Slam. The two contestants gave each other a tough time and the young Serb consolidated
his win after a five-setter.
In the previous round, Nadal had to face a tough trail at the hands of Gilles Simon. He skilfully fought his challenger and after a stiff battle, he consolidated his straight-set win 6-3, 6-4. However the Monte-Carlo Masters was
not the correct measurement to gauge Nadal’s true potential but he is unquestionably the top most contender at the clay courts.
The left-hander clearly dominated the match with his high paced performance and serve precision. He strategically played the tournament and did not give his rival a single chance to take over the lead.
Djokovic was unable to encounter the might of the left-hander Spanish. Nadal played very consistently and sustained their consistency. The 10-time Grand Slam champion won due to his big forehands and powerful comebacks.
The world number four, Nadal, secured 68 per cent initial serve precision and thundered three aces in the contest. He double faulted once, bagging away 22 of 26 first and six of 12 second serve points. He capitalized on five of
eight serve break opportunities and his rival secured the one bestowed onto him. The 25-year-old, Djokovic, secured 63 percent first serve accuracy, pocketing away 12 of 30 first and 10 of 18 second serve points in response.
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