The battle between two rivals for career supremacy continues on the final day of the 2019 Australian Open, with Djokovic (31 years old) having a 27-25 all time head to head edge over Nadal (32 years old). These two met once in the Aussie Open Men’s Final back in 2012, with Djokovic winning on the outdoor hard court in five sets. But that was seven years ago, and Djokovic isn’t the same beast he used to be, although that may be hard to see given that he’s in the final here at the start of the ATP season. Meanwhile Nadal somehow continues to drop bodies on the court despite a career laden with pesky injuries (a knee injury brought an early end to his 2018 schedule) and he’ll be looking to gain back the all time head to head lead as the two are deep into the back half of their careers. The sportsbook likes Novak (-135) in this match, but it will be a closely contested one. Who will win? Let’s find out.
Djokovic is moving to the finals of the Australian Open – again. That’s after he repulsed Lucas Pouille in the semifinals in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. Making the grand stage of this annual event in Melbourne is nothing new to Djokovic. Winning it all in Melbourne is nothing new to the Serbian to be more precise. Djokovic has six Australian Open titles. He pocketed his last one there in 2016. Of those six championships, one came at the expense of Nadal, whom Djokovic beat in the Australian Open finals back in 2012 via a hard-earned 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5. Djokovic is considered as the better hardcourt player between him and Nadal, which is something that’s hard to deny, considering that Djokovic has won all of his last seven hardcourt matches with Nadal. Djokovic went 23-4 in outdoor hardcourt matches last year.
Betting on the Rafael Nadal (+105 to win)
Nadal booked a spot in the finals following a win in the semis over Stefano Tsiptsipas to the tune of a 6-2,6-4, 6-0 win. As what the score suggests, it was a dominant win for the Spaniard, as Nadal was not broken until the final game. On the flip side, he broke five of Tsiptsipas’ serves and put 85 percent of his serves in. Nadal has lost just two games so far in the tournament, so any fears of fatigue in the finals should be greatly allayed by that fact. Nadal is very familiar with Djokovic. The two have met a total of 52 times in their career. While Djokovic leads the all-time head to head, Nadal has won two of the last three meetings. Nadal is no stranger when it comes to having success in Melbourne, as he owns an Australian Open title, which he won back in 2009. The 32-year-old future Hall of Famer was 14-2 in hardcourt matches last year and has lost just 10 times on the surface in 52 total contests dating back to 2017.
Writer’s Prediction
Djokovic wins in five sets, extending his head to head record over Nadal to 28-25.
