US Open Men's Final Pick 2013- Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal (September 9th)

It was a fascinating Final between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka yesterday and I am expecting no less from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the men's Final which will take place on Monday afternoon.

Both players will have their supporters in this one and those that backed Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic at the start of the tournament would have a chance to lay off their units, although I am still of the belief that Nadal will come out on top in this one.


Whenever I have watched Rafael Nadal in the last two weeks, I have been impressed with his performances and I  have been reminded of the way he blitzed his way through the draw in 2010 when he won his sole US Open title. In that Final, Rafael Nadal took care of a tired Novak Djokovic in four sets and it will be interesting to see how the World Number 1 responds to his five set match against Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday afternoon.

Wawrinka gave Djokovic almost everything he could handle and we saw a flat Djokovic come out in the Wimbledon Final off a similar rest period back in July- if he is lacking intensity in this one, he will be given a torrid time by someone like Nadal that will play every point hard and who will not give the Serb an easy way into the match.

Like in 2010, Nadal has looked very effective behind his serve and he is playing with an aggression that could break through the Djokovic defences in this one. The World Number 1 has lost a number of big matches since winning the Grand Slam at the Australian Open last January and that is making it hard for me to shake the belief that Nadal will prove too strong.

However, Djokovic is probably the best fighter on the Tour when things are going against him and he should really have beaten Nadal at the French Open earlier this season, but that loss coupled with the one in Montreal means the Spaniard has begun to get the better of this rivalry again.

The extra aggression that Nadal has shown, plus the protection of his own serve being stronger in the tournament means I have a feeling he will prove too good for Djokovic and win his second Grand Slam since returning to the Tour in February.

If Djokovic's backhand is working, it could be another close match between these two, but that shot has not been at its best in the tournament so far and unless there is a marked improvement in this one then it is hard to see the Serb come through. I hope we see another good Final between the two, but I believe it will be decided in four sets in favour of Rafael Nadal.


MY PICK: Rafael Nadal - 2.5 Games @ 2.14 Pinnacle (2 Units)

US Open Update: 29-39, - 11.22 Units (114 Units Staked, - 9.84% Yield)