It could be the final, but it’s just the quarter-final. The 59th instalment of Nadal vs Djokovic is happening at the French Open 2022.
Nadal vs Djokovic, French Open 2022
Match Prediction
When the French Open draw came out, the writing was on the wall – Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz was on the same half of the draw. Meaning, the dream quarter-final would be Nadal vs Djokovic and then a semi-final for the winner against Alcaraz. This would happen on the top half of the draw while Tsitsipas confidently waited on the other side. But Tsitsipas is out of the tournament after a serious beating by Holger Rune and Alcaraz would have to beat Zverev before he sets up a clash with one of the GOATs in the semi-finals.
Who will win, Nadal or Djokovic? Looking at how the tournament has progressed, it looks like Djokovic is the player to beat. He has hardly put a foot wrong. The only circumstance perhaps not pointing in his favor is that he has not faced a stern test yet. And going from that to playing the king of clay is quite a contrast.
Still, Djokovic has beaten Nadal at the French Open before and leads their head-to-head 30-28. But Nadal has a strong advantage, 7-2 at the French Open. Both times he has lost though, it has been before the final. Also, Nadal’s foot has been bothering him lately. He has said that he doesn’t even know if this is his last French Open. That could be something he says  to take some pressure off, but it could also be an honest take on how bad his foot injury is. We all know that Nadal won’t give up, but his foot might force him to. Especially in a match against Djokovic where the rallies will be more or less endless.
What do the bookies say?
Djokovic is the clear favorite going into the match. Nadal pays out at a decent sum of three times your bet if he wins. Novak is 1.5.
Considering the injury status and how good Novak has looked, I think these odds make sense.
I stand by my prediction that Novak will win the tournament (although I hope that Alcaraz will win). My prediction for the French Open 2022 quater-final between Nadal vs Djokovic is that Novak wins in four sets.
What do you think?Â
