Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met for the 23rd time at the 2010 ATP Finals, meeting in the second round-robin match after scoring opening wins. The Spaniard cruised to a 7-5, 6-2 victory in one hour and 52 minutes, beating the Serb for the 16th time and maintaining a perfect score in London.
After an early exit from the Paris Masters, Novak arrived in London and played well in the first round-robin duel against Tomas Berdych. He too made a good start against Nadal before experiencing irritation in his right eye in game eight, taking a medical break and changing his contact lenses a couple of times.
The Serb couldn’t improve his eyesight and he played the second set with almost one eye, standing no chance against such a strong opponent. Novak’s timeout off the court took seven minutes, and Nadal said nothing as he waited for his opponent.
However, the Spaniard was asked to speed up a bit as he served as action resumed, and he argued with the chair umpire about it. After the match, Rafa explained that he had nothing against Novak’s extended time-out, but it also didn’t feel right to be rushed by the referee after missing serve on time for two or three seconds.
Nadal saved four of five break chances and took 43% of return points and delivered four breaks to seal the deal in straight sets and beat Djokovic for the second time that season. Unable to control his shots, Novak committed 30 unforced errors and lost ground from the closing stages of the first set, playing fearless tennis and looking to all-or-nothing shots as the only option.
Travis speaks about Djokovic
While the CDC communicated a change in health rules, the Fox News channel wondered whether this would soon allow Novak Djokovic to be able to play the US Open. Clay Travis, the channel’s columnist and also founder of outkick.com thinks it would be logical and healthy.
That seeing Novak on a court would also be a real symbol to demonstrate that life is back to normal. “From the moment the CDC explains that a vaccinated must be treated like an unvaccinated, and that there are no differences, I do not see why and how Novak Djokovic could not come and play for the US Open.
If I even want to argue, I could advise him to take his bag and his snowshoes and go to Mexico to cross the border. Frankly, when we talk about returning to a normal life, it would be a beautiful symbol of unity to see the Serb defend his chances in New York.”
