Djokovic: Nadal is No.1 Roland Garros Favorite, Without Doubt

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Djokovic: Nadal is No.1 Roland Garros Favorite, Without Doubt

It’s official—at least in Novak Djokovic’s mind: Rafael Nadal is the Roland Garros favorite.

“Nadal No.1 favorite without a doubt, and then everyone else,” Djokovic told reporters on Sunday in Rome after falling to the Spaniard 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final. But Djokovic said there are a lot of players in the draw who could create some upsets.

Recap: Nadal Topples Djokovic for Ninth Title at Rome

“I think it’s going to be a good tournament,” he said. “Dominic Thiem is playing some really, really good tennis, he can beat anybody, really especially on clay. [Fabio] Fognini, also, playing great quality tennis--he showed against Nadal in Monte-Carlo what he’s capable of.

"On a given day, best of five with one day between matches, I think players will have enough time to be at their best and everyone is trying to peak for Roland Garros without a doubt. I’m looking forward to it I think it’s going to be a great tournament.”

Djokovic doesn’t seem to be too disheartened by his loss to Nadal on Sunday. The World No.1 was riding a nine-match winning streak after claiming the Madrid title last week but he didn’t appear to be at his fighting fittest on Sunday.

When probed for reasons he told reporters that the schedule did make it difficult for him to be prepared for a Sunday afternoon final after two three-set matches that ended around midnight on Friday and Saturday in Rome.

“I really always try to respect the win of my opponent and I don’t like to talk about it too much,” he said. “It is what it is. The schedule can be improved, in my opinion.”

Djokovic said that he was happy to be in the final after he saved a pair of match points in an epic three-hour battle with Juan Martin del Potro on Friday. He was up against it on Saturday as well, when he tackled Diego Schwartzman in a heated three-setter that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.

"Nadal is number 1 favorite. And then... Everyone else!", says Djokovic in a laugh about who's fav for RG.
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) May 19, 2019

“Those types of things are a little concerning for players,” Djokovic said about the late-night finish on a day before a big final. “You start asking yourself ‘How are they making the schedule?’ It has been like that for singles at least for a while so I accept it and I respect whatever I have in front of me and I think it was a great week considering I was one shot away from losing the quarter-finals against Del Potro and to get to the finals is really a great result. As I said, I haven’t played my best today, I haven’t felt my best but at the same time I managed to fight and that’s the positive I take from it.”

The Serb said the battles took a lot out of him.

“Overall I was, as I said, lacking a little bit more of a dynamic movement, kind of attacking the ball,” he said. "I was just running out of fuel a little bit today. Just kind of missed that half a step, especially on the backhand side. [Nadal] used it very well. He's been playing some terrific tennis throughout the entire week. He was just too strong today."

Still, Djokovic managed to turn around a lopsided match and force a decider with the now nine-time Rome champ. He feels he had chances early in the third but when he couldn’t take them it was quickly over.

“I had my chances in the first couple of games, I thought, in the third set, but then he ran away from me.”

Rafael Nadal wins his 1st title of 2019, and it's a big one heading into Roland Garros. 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final. Djokovic still leads their head-to-head 28-26 but Nadal has won last 3 on clay.
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) May 19, 2019