Paris Masters Semi-Final Tips: Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal

Events / Ben Caudell / 14 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

"After underperforming throughout the tournament Nadal made amends when he faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals, unleashing winning shots from all angles of the court and hitting a total of just eight unforced errors all match."

Nadal goes into this one as outsider - so back him, says Ben Caudell

This is a match that will get everyone's attention, a showcase that will give us a taste of what to come in less than two weeks time when the top eight players in the world battle it out for the much coveted World Tour Finale that Novak Djokovic won last year.

The second- (Nadal) and third- (Djokovic) ranked players in the world have played each other no less than 19 times in their illustrious careers with Rafael Nadal leading the head-to-head series 14-5. Five of these matches were played this year, Djokovic taking the most recent meeting in straight sets at Cincinnati on hard and Nadal winning the four previous matches on clay.

Nadal had looked out of sorts when up against fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro in the his first match of the Paris Masters, he somehow managed to claw his way back from five match points down eventually winning 7-5 in the third set. His third round match against another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo was yet again a three setter and a performance that was hardly Nadal-esque.

But after underperforming the Spaniard made amends when he faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals, unleashing winning shots from all angles of the court and hitting a total of just eight unforced errors all match.

Djokovic meanwhile was less than convincing in his match against Robin Soderling, appearing sluggish and withdrawn at certain points. The Serbian is understandably fatigued by the amount of matches he has played since the US Open and Nadal can exploit that.

Selection: Back Rafael Nadal @ [2.2] to win match