Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rome Masters: A Tournament Preview

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 14, 2012

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The fifth Masters 1000 event of the year (and the third and final one of the clay court season) is here and the excitement level going into the tournament couldn't be higher.

Roger Federer showed true grit and adaptability to claim the Madrid Masters—played this year on the much-maligned blue clay—Rafael Nadal was surpassed in the world rankings by the Switzerland native and both he and Novak Djokovic were dumped out of the Madrid by fellow countrymen Fernando Verdasco and Janko Tipsarevic, respectively.

Twenty-three of the top 25 players in the world will participate in the Rome tournament, with world No. 4 Andy Murray returning to the scene of his epic match-of-the-year-worthy semifinal performance against Novak Djokovic last year.

It was hard to pick a winner in Madrid; Rome is even more open.

 

Novak Djokovic

It is next to impossible to make judgement calls about Novak Djokovic's form without reference to his stellar 2011, and given his brilliance last year, it's a pity that what is already a fine 2012 will be inevitably be undermined by the what was a magnificent 2011.

The Serbian world No. 1 is always a threat wherever he goes, but there is no doubt that his form has dipped of late. Uncharacteristic losses to Tipsarevic, and others to the likes of Nadal and Murray have highlighted the mental and physical lapses that are to be expected following his exploits last year. A favorite to reach the final, no doubt—but not my favorite to win.

 



Roger Federer

There is a bit of doubt about Federer's participation in the Rome Masters. Reports of injury and tiredness have surfaced but no official word is out. Very few would have picked Federer to win Madrid at the start of last week, and I think even fewer will pick him to win Rome.

In a previous article, I said that if you could win Madrid, you could win anywhere...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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