After all the drama with Novak Djokovic's wrist and Rafael Nadal's confidence, the world's top two tennis players are right where they should be as the Grand Slam season is about to get back into full swing.
Rafael Nadal to play multiple matches against his main rival at Roland Garros?
Nadal and Djokovic will meet in the finals of the Italian Open on Sunday. Nadal had by far his easiest match of the tournament in dispatching Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2, in 82 minutes, according to atpworldtour.com. Djokovic needed three hours to defeat Milos Raonic 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Questions surrounded both players entering the final tuneup before Roland Garros.
Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open while dealing with a wrist injury he suffered during the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters last month. The initial diagnosis after Monte Carlo was that the injury was not serious and Nole would be able to play in Madrid.
Wrist injury to cost Novak Djokovic a chance at the 2014 French Open?
But the injury flared up just prior to Madrid, and questions swirled whether Djokovic would be healthy for the French Open, which starts a week from Sunday. He answered those questions this week in Rome.
"It was a big win," Djokovic said in a post-match news conference as reported by atpworldtour.com. "Because it gives me a lot of strength and belief that I hope I can carry into tomorrow's final and the rest of the season."
Nadal's issues started with his back but then traveled north to his head. Playing with a bad back, Rafa lost the Australian Open final to Stanislas Wawrinka. That loss seemed to sap his confidence, which didn't seem like a big deal until he lost twice during the clay season and nearly a third at the Madrid Open before Kei Nishikori had to retire because of his own injured back.
According to reports, Nishikori was in complete control of the match before the injury. The hangover affected Nadal during his first two matches in Rome, in which lightly regarded Gilles Simon and Mikhail Youzhny took him to three sets.
Nadal finally found his game midway through a three-set victory over Andy Murray.
Sunday's meeting will be the 41st between the rivals. Nadal, a seven-time winner in Rome, has a 13-3 record vs. Djokovic on clay and a 22-18 lead overall. Djokovic is gunning for his fourth Rome title.
"Djokovic always plays unbelievable, he's a complete player and has all the shots," said Nadal about his impending encounter with Djokovic. "If I want to have chances to win I have to play my best tennis, be aggressive. It will be a very tough match. That's the only way. I have to be ready for the competition."
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