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Was Novak Djokovic’s Victory over Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo Unsurprising?
Published: April 22, 2013
The human mind never fails to surprise, and for those with a vivid memory, it will only be too clear how outrageous, even blasphemous such thinking might have been even just a year ago.
No one disputed for very long the sheer ineffable dominance of Nadal on clay. Victory on it was almost foregone for so many years. Just being on court was enough to make opponents lose, and it happened sometimes on a far more real and physical way than it did for Federer—of whose "aura of invincibility" so much has been said.
Still, as of April 2013, it is no longer blasphemous to think of Nadal losing a clay court final. As a matter of fact it happened in February, when Nadal lost his opening final to Horacio Zeballos as he sought to wipe off nearly a year of tennis inactivity in Chile.
No doubt Nadal's drawn-out layoff after Wimbledon last year—and injury woes—must have played a role in the result Sunday.
Taking nothing away from his three impressive tournament victories this year thus far—his three-set win against Juan Martin Del Potro snapped an almost three-year, hard court tournament drought. There was some evidence at Monaco this week of vulnerability and a lack of confidence.
Nadal was shaky against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarters and nearly let slip a 3-1 lead in the second set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals.
However much Nadal seemed to cope physically during the week, he slipped mentally at crucial moments and succumbed, one suspects, to the growing "Nolitis" he had suffered severely seven times in 2011—the inability to find his way past the disdainful resistance of Djokovic.
Nadal's shot selections aside...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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