Novak Slam - Will Rafa Spoil The Party?

The semis are over and for the fourth successive Grand Slam tournament it will be Djokovic v Nadal for the glory.  Rafa has not lost a set while mercilessly destroying each of his 6 victims and treating us to a vintage array of shots that only a racquet placed in his hands can produce.  David Ferrer was made to look inadequate just 2 days after showing us that he actually is top 5 standard.  There lies the harsh truth.  The gulf in men's tennis between the top 3 and the remainder is immense and not looking like diminishing any time soon.

Another piece of reality that his legion of fans will not want to accept but may have to sooner rather than later, is the increasing gap between Roger Federer and the 2 best players in the world - certainly at Grand Slam level.  Novak Djokovic thrashed Roger Federer in the semi final over which everyone was salivating pre-match.  Unfortunately the dizzy heights of  the 2011 version could not be repeated, and yes the fickle wind did not assist the players to produce their best tennis.  The world number one, though, managed both the conditions and Federer to put a lie to any fatigue he may experience following successive 5 set struggles against Seppi and Tsonga.

Although insufficient credit was given Djokovic by the Australian TV commentators - everything seemed to be about how Roger's single handed backhand was a disadvantage for the poor guy - the classy Serb champion displayed the purpose and smarts and downright skill as the best in his sport to run one of the best ever totally ragged.  Even when Roger threatened in the second set, and clearly he remains too good not to do this at some stages, Novak came up with the answers, just as he did when seemingly out for the count against Tsonga.

This will now be the ninth Grand Slam singles crown to be decided since Federer last took one - January 2010 was number 16 and at that point Rafa had won 6 and the Joker a mere 1.  On Sunday it will either be number 11 for Nadal, placing him equal on Grand Slam singles titles with the likes of Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg (and breaking clear of Borg with 7 Roland Garros wins) or number 6 for Djokovic, completing a career Grand Slam, and becoming the first man since Laver to hold all 4 major trophies at the same time.

Rafa still deserves his favouritism, no question, but one can never discount the fighting capabilities of Novak, and the final promises to be another wonderful contest between the best 2 players on the planet.