Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal Prediction & Betting Tips - Roland Garros

Prediction published on 10/06/2021, 10:22  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 10/06/2021 at 12:05 in Tennis Predictions

It's the men's singles semi-final that we all wanted. No unseeded or lowly seeds as in the women's singles (though it's still totally fascinating), instead we have two of the greatest tennis players of all time battling it out. World number one Novak Djokovic faces the third seed Rafael Nadal. The winner will face either Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsiitsipas in the final.

It's the dream semi-final as Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. The winner takes on either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final. This is the 58th time these two legends have played each other. After all those matches, Djokovic has a 29-28 lead but has lost 19 of his 26 matches against Nadal played on a clay court. Djokovic took a larger lead over Nadal during that period a few years ago when he was almost unbeatable. However, those days aren't here anymore and Nadal has won three of their last four meetings and the last five played on clay, including a straight sets win in last year's final. Djokovic only won seven games in that final, five of them coming in the third and final set. 

Nadal has only dropped one set on his way to this semi-final. That was in Wednesday's last eight encounter with Diego Schwartzmann. He still ended up winning that match comfortably. Djokovic nearly went out in the fourth round having to come from two sets down to Lorenzo Musetti. He played better on Wednesday when beating Matteo Berretini in four sets. The crowd didn't get to see his tantrums as they had to leave due to the curfew. Nadal looks in the better form and can win this match to reach yet another final.