After a couple of rain delays, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will have to wait another day to finish up their championship match…thanks to weather and darkness (more reason for the French Tennis Federation to install lights on the bigger courts).
I thought for sure that Rafael would have already won the match, especially after leading two sets and a break in the third. Though Nole did what he does best, come back, he won the third set and was leading two to one in the fourth. At this points, had the two continued playing, I think that Djokovic would have won; now, however, Nadal has the advantage.
There is a lot on the line for both players, Nadal would be the only man in the open ear to have won the French Open seven times and Novak Djokovic would be the only other man in open era history to hold all four major at the same time (’11 Wimbledon, ’11 US Open, ’12 Australian Open). Talk about pressure.
Nadal was in complete control, until the first rain delay; the rain changed the court characteristics, the clay gets wet and muddy, the water begins to pool at the back court, the balls get wet and heavy. It’s hard to play through such miserable conditions, especially in a championship match.
The 2012 French Open Men’s Championships will continue Monday morning at 7am Eastern (4am Pacific). I’m going to have to go with Nadal winning the title, the rest will help him regroup mentally.