Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
11th October 1400hrs
Tennis – France – French Open 2020
Pick Djokovic to win
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 13/10 odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will resume their rivalry on Sunday when they meet in the Final of the French Open 2020.
Nadal has cast aside any doubts about his suitability and form for this later-in-the-year French Open by reaching the showcase match without having dropped a set.
Novak Djokovic has faced some battles along the way on his path to the final, but has at times produced tennis that has been unplayable.
Table of Contents
Novak Djokovic Preview – Will Djokovic land his second French Open title?
Novak Djokovic is looking to become the first man in the Open Era to claim all four Grand Slam titles at least twice.
It has been some astounding form from the Serbian since the season was restarted because he has only dropped the one match. That was when he was defaulted at the US Open.
Since coming back he has claimed the Western & Southern Open and then roared his way to the Italian Open title on clay.
His effort at the French Open 2020 hasn’t been all that straight forward however, because he has faced some challenges in the last two rounds.
In the quarter finals he looked out of sorts in the opening stages, dropping the first set against Pablo Carreno Busta.
In the semi finals he was up against young Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, which got extended to a five-setter.
Djokovic was cruising at 2-0 up and he had a match point in the third. But he couldn’t convert and then struggled to contain a big fightback from Tsitpitas until the final set.
Novak Djokovic is the 13/10 underdog in tennis betting for the French Open final* (odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October).
But the positive for Djokovic was that there were no signs of the physical problems for him in the semi final that he had in the quarters.
He will have had a good day and half to recover from that five-set ordeal against Tsitsipas.
It is worth a reminder that Djokovic is now 37-1 this season. His semi final opponent Tsitsipas siad after their match that he thought Djokovic had reached perfection.
Rafael Nadal Preview – Can Nadal make it number 13 at Roland Garros
It has been some career for Rafael Nadal at the French Open of course, having won it twelve times before.
It’s a staggering number and his match record at the Grand Slam is 99-2.
While the Spaniard was one of the front runners pre-tournament along with Djokovic and recent US Open winner Dominic Thiem, there were question marks over his chances.
That’s because he didn’t play at the US Open and was beaten in the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 Rome event.
But here he is, throwing off all of those question to reach yet another French Open final for which he is the 4/6 odds-on favourite* (odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October).
Nadal has not dropped a set on his road to the final either.
Just two of the sets that he has played have gone to a tie-breaker as well.
So he has been fairly comfortable along the way and was impressive against the in-form Diego Schwartzman in his semi final match.
If Nadal wins this title then he will pull level with Roger Federer on a total of 21 career Grand Slam titles.
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A Rafael Nadal 3-0 option in set betting is at 11/4* (odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October). That really looks a bold punt though.
Djokovic isn’t likely to go away that easily.
The two greats have already met this year with Djokovic getting a win on the hard court at the ATP Cup in Australia at the start of the year.
The last time that they met on clay, there was a victory for Nadal in the final of last year’s ATP Masters 1000 Rome event.
Rafael Nadal is on a three-match winning streak against Novak Djokovic on clay, not having dropped a set in any of those.
This will be the first meeting at the French Open since Djokovic’s quarter final in 2015.
In the overall head to head, Djokovic leads 29-26.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal Betting Advice
We have to go with Novak Djokovic for the win as the 13/10 underdog in this one* (odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October).
He has played the better tennis of the two at this tournament and despite a couple of wobbles in those two couple of rounds, he has still managed to prevail.
Djokovic has had a tougher road to the final than what Nadal has had, plus he has had a lot more time on court since the season restarted.
Key Facts – Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal Betting Tip
- Novak Djokovic leads the head to head 29-26 with Nadal
- Novak Djokovic took five-sets to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi’s
- Rafael Nadal has not dropped a set at the 2020 French Open
We think that those are going to be crucial things. In the final four, Djokovic looked to be well over whatever was troubling him physically in the quarter finals.
So we expect him to give the relatively untested Nadal a good work out in this one, and come through it.
The best option that we see in the set betting for tennis betting on the French Open final is therefore, a Djokovic 3-1 option at 9/2* (odds taken 18:09 GMT, Saturday 10th October).
The best betting odds for Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic to win: 13/10 at Bet365
Rafael Nadal to win: 4/6 at Bet365
