Djokovic v Nadal - The Rivalry That Should

At this moment in time it stands at 18-14 in favour of Nadal. For me this is the Connors/McEnroe of our time. That rivalry yielded 34 matches and finished 20-14 in favour of Big Mac. They only ever met twice in Grand Slam finals where they are 1-1. They never met in Melbourne. It spawned 3 decades. Right from the first time they met in 1977 at Wimbledon till they last met in 1991 in Basel. Ended how it started with a McEnroe victory. It had passion, grit, guts, sublime, class. It was a rivalry that even though you felt both players would gladly murder each other off court. On court it was a spectacle to behold. Matches had dominant performances from both players, others had the street fighting type slugfest, others were contested so closely there was not a hair's breath between them. Despite this, I enjoyed the Borg/McEnroe rivalry more. Despite the 14 match rivalry and the 7-7 H2H, I think the fact you had Wimbledon finals in 1980/1981 and the US Open finals of the same years that yielded 18 sets and a whopping 193 games! It was such a contrast to Connors/McEnroe. You had McEnroe who the street fighter from New York who had his sharp wits on the court but also the touch of an artist. Had relentless ambition and buckets of personality and wasn't scared to mix it up with the best of them. On the other hand you had Borg who was athletic, handsome, cool, had the speed and the touch around the court of an angel. He was a force that tennis had never seen before. An 11 time Slam winner. Despite Connors being the only real challenger, no-one had really got into Borg like McEnroe. Despite the stamina, despite the skill, McEnroe had something that he could fight Borg with. He could chase that extra point, he could play one shot, he could generate momentum and change the tide in matches. After 1980 and Borg saw off the young pretender, 1981 finally saw the man that was going to usurp Borg and share the throne. Then just like that it came to an end with Borg's retirement. Just as McEnroe conquered that mountain, it was gone. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's rivalry became just what Borg and McEnroe was. The one hand you had Merlin with his wand conjuring the most breath-taking play that the game has seen. Like Borg, Federer had Roddick and despite the power and the fitness and the drive, Roddick could just not turn the tide of the budding rivalry. Rafael Nadal came along and then Federer started to look equal. They battled on Clay and Federer just found a wall that wouldn't crumble. Nadal had 2 bites at the Wimbledon cherry and came up short. Federer dominated the Hard stuff and Nadal was struggling to bring his dominant Clay play onto other surfaces. At Wimbledon in 2007, 2008 and Australian Open 2009 in which 15 sets yielded 165 games!! It had become a much bigger spectacle than Borg and McEnroe. The US Open is the only hallow turf to which they haven't played. Like the Borg and McEnroe rivalry, it hadn't touched all 4 Slam venues.

Now we have Djokovic and Nadal. History makers. They are about to meet in all finals in all the Slams. On Sunday we will either have a 7 time champ or Grand Slam holder. A Nadal victory for me is a must. It has to. For me despite their encounters, I feel underwhelmed. It reminds me more of McEnroe/Connors. Where they are so alike in more ways than one. Nadal needs this win on Sunday. Why? Because he would've beaten him on 2 different surfaces. It would add that missing dimension. It gives the rivalry that needed balance which will grant it longevity for the years to come. They are the modern day iron mans. Despite the rivalry being almost equal, despite this history making day, it lacks the prestige that Borg/McEnroe and Federer/Nadal has/had.

Yes LK, what is great about this final is that both players have a chance at history. I think this has to be one of the most historic finals in a great many years. Nadal can tie borg, Djokovic can join Laver winning 4 in a row. I think as dominant as both players have been we are destined to see many, many more finals and great matches between the two. I think Novak will be ready and will not be an easy out with all he has on the line and we will see how Nadal reacts to being challenged well for the first time since the hardcourt season.

There is no rivalry. It's an ownage. Right now the H2H in slam finals is 3-1 for Nole.

After Sunday the H2H will be 4-1 in slam finals for Nole.

Complete and utter ownage.

No Jersey IIRC the Indian Astrologer predicted Federer to win... and as he is always correct that means neither Djokovic or Nadal can win.

jersey 18-14 says otherwise. No-one owns no-one.