Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray gave Nadal everything they had. Their reward? 1 set won between the two of them. Andy Murray played his heart out against Nadal but Rafa just pounded on him. Novak put up a better fight against Rafa and could’ve technicall won in straight sets. He was up a break against Nadal in the first set and won the 2nd set comfortably. But as always Nadal saved a bunch of break points and won the last set 6-1 where it should’ve been closer.
Considering that Rafa plays two level above his current level at the French Open it’s hard to imagine who can stop him. He looks absolutely unbeatable on clay and only a fluke performance can deny him another Rome title. And I doubt anyone can take 3 sets off of him on clay. Roger came the closest a couple of years ago when he had 2 match points, but that’s all.
Can anyone beat Roger this year? It’s hard to tell. If Rafa somehow under-performs in early rounds and get tired, Murray and Djokovic may have a chance. Otherwise, we may as well skip the clay court season.
Your take: who can beat Rafa on clay?