Novak Djokovic has always been known for his ability to return even the world’s fastest serves with consummate ease and last weekend this gift proved the difference between winning and losing yet again.
Facing Rafael Nadal in the final of a tournament the
Spaniard has won eight times before must be a daunting task but when you’ve got
a return master at the other end of the court the balance of power evens
somewhat.
This is what fans betting Betfair enjoyed on Sunday afternoon
as Nadal and Djokovic clashed for the Monte Carlo Masters final and few of us
expected the result we witnessed.
Djokovic was simply too dominant for the Spaniard and
bounded to a 5-0 first-set lead before taking the opener 6-2. Although Nadal
fought back hard to force a second-set tie-break, Djokovic’s dominance on
single points proved the difference between the pair as he won the second and
the championship on a 7-1 mini set.
What gave Djokovic the edge on Sunday was his ability to return
serve and if he keeps this up he is the logical choice to win the French Open
later next month.
Djokovic only made 62% of his first serves compared to
Nadal’s 72%, yet the Serb won 63% of his first serve points, while Nadal only won 55% of his.
So, despite having a better serve Nadal failed to make it
count, and this was because Djokovic is the master at retuning.
His reaction to serves is second to none and because he
possesses at 6ft 2” frame he can stretch across the court in a flash and excavate
those impossible balls. The 2013 Australian Open champion won 40/78 return
points to Nadal’s 23/61 and that is where the pair differed.
If Nadal is to win the Roland Garros crown he must improve
his return game or find an extra 10mph in his serves. That is unlikely to
happen and so betting fans should back Djokovic to win the clay slam this
summer.
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