Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Italian Open

Prediction published on 18/05/2019, 18:52  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 18/05/2019 at 19:53 in ATP Italian Open Predictions

It's not something that gets written many times but in his first three clay court tournaments this season Rafael Nadal failed to reach a final, let alone win the title. The King of Clay was knocked out in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid but he's come good this week in Italy. Nadal has reached his first final and done so without dropping a set. In his first three matches, the Spaniard only lost six games and that included a win over 14th seed Nicoloz Basilashvili for the loss of just one game. The semi-final saw him get revenge on Stefanos Tsitsipas who beat him in Madrid.

Novak Djokovic is the number one seed but has struggled in some of his matches this week. The world number one has won one clay court title this season winning in Madrid. Before that he lost in the Monte Carlo quarter finals to Daniil Medvedev.  This week saw him win his first two matches in straight sets against unseeded opposition. The quarter-final wasn't so easy as he had to go to three sets to defeat seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro after losing the first set. His semi-final also went to three sets as he beat the unseeded Diego Schwartzman after dropping the second set on a tie-break. The tip here is for a Rafael Nadal win over his great rival.