Group B: Third round robin preview
Novak Djokovic
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Rafael Nadal (2) vs Novak Djokovic (3)
Start: Friday 27 November, 14:15
Head to head: Nadal 14/6 Djokovic
Two shock defeats to Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko render this clash nothing more than a training exercise and an opportunity to salvage some pride for the World No. 2.
But with Nadal desperate to hit form before the Davis Cup World Group Final clash with the Czech Republic on December 4, and Djokovic requiring victory just to stand a chance of making the semi-finals on Saturday, we could be treated to a rejuvenated performance from the two here.
Both men have underperformed quite spectacularly to date at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, with pre-tournament favourite Djokovic following up a scrappy 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 first round robin victory over Davydenko with a lackluster straight sets defeat to Soderling. And with Nadal still yet to register a set in the tournament after losing to both Soderling and Davydenko in two, the Spaniard will be determined to avoid departing London’s showpiece event with a whimper.
“I don’t know how far I am from my best,” the world No 2 said after Wednesday’s defeat to Davydenko.
“I didn’t arrive at this tournament with full confidence and you need it to win.”- Nadal
Determined to recapture his waning self-belief against Djokovic, Nadal holds the upper hand with 14 wins in 20 career ties against the Serb. But his 22-year-old opponent holds the edge on a hard court, having won six of their nine meetings on the surface. The latest, a semi-final triumph at the Paris Masters could provide Djokovic with the psychological edge, but as is brazenly clear from results in the tournament so far, past encounters mean very little in front of nearly 18,000 fans at the O2 Arena.
Our prediction: Djokovic to brush aside a downbeat rafa in three
Nikolay Davydenko (7) vs Robin Soderling (9)
Start: Friday 27 November, 20:45
Head to head: Davydenko 3/6 Soderling
The dark horses of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals have become the tournament’s unlikely stars. After both recording straight sets victories over Rafael Nadal; Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko have stepped up to the plate in the prestigious end of year tournament.
Davydenko, well aware of the popularity of Nadal, apologised to the crowd at the O2 Arena after knocking the Spaniard out of the competition with an assured 6-1, 7-6(4) victory, but refused to get carried away with his win.
“I’m not so happy,” insisted last year’s finalist.
“It’s a round-robin, it’s not like I’ve won the tournament.
“I showed my best tennis today, and we’ll see if I can do the same thing on Friday.” -Davydenko
Davydenko, who has suffered from an undiagnosed respiratory complaint for the best part of a month, confessed to struggling with injury as he tried to kill off the second set against Nadal.
“I have a little bit of an injury from my first match,” he said.
“I was starting to have pain in the second set because we were running every point, so it was good to finish it in the tie-break.”
In contrast, the fighting-fit Soderling has already guaranteed his passage to the semi-finals after easing past a tired looking Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-1 on Wednesday. Davydenko could follow suit if he beats the Swede this evening and Nadal conquers Djokovic. Any other result (other than a Djokovic win and a Davydenko defeat) will cue yet more scrabbling for our calculators.
The ATP will hope to avoid a repeat of the confusion surrounding Thursday evening’s conclusion to Group B, which left Juan Martin del Potro sat on court for over 15 minutes before finally being confirmed as a semi-finalist ahead of Britain’s Andy Murray.
Three wins apiece in their six hard court meetings mean statistics do little to indicate a winner here, but with Soderling the only undefeated player left in the competition, a third consecutive Swedish master class would be conclusive enough to leave our calculators tucked away in the drawer.
Our prediction: Three from three for the Swede, an unlikely bet for the overall?
Friday’s doubles
12:30- (4) Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes vs. (7) Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram
19:00- (2) Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan vs. (6) Lukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach
