Sunday Preview - Nadal Aims For Historical Title Against Defending Champ Djokovic

Reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal attempts to capture a record fourth title in Rome as he takes on defending champion and No. 3 Novak Djokovic (pictured) in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday. This is the first final between two former Rome champions since 1978 when Bjorn Borg defeated Adriano Panatta in five sets. Jaroslav Drobny (1950-52), Martin Mulligan (1963, ’65, ’67) and Thomas Muster (1990, ’95-96) are the others who have won three titles in Rome. This is the fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season and both players are appearing in their third final. Nadal leads the all-time series 12-4, including a 7-0 mark on clay. Nadal is trying to earn his fifth ATP World Tour level title of the season and 15th career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown (14-4). Djokovic is looking for his second title of the year and fifth career ATP Masters 1000 title (4-4). Nadal is 24-1 in ATP World Tour level clay court finals while Djokovic is 3-2 in clay finals.

WHAT’S AT STAKE –
Winner:  € 434,000 and 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points
Runner-up: € 203,000 and 600 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points

FINALS HISTORY –
Nadal:  Appearing in his 45th ATP World Tour level final……………….He is 35-9 in finals
  Appearing in his 19th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final……..He is 14-4 in finals
Djokovic: Appearing in his 21st ATP World Tour level final………………He is 12-8 in finals  
  Appearing in his 9th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final..……..He is 4-4 in finals

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Title Leaders (since 1990) – Nadal is 14-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals and he’s looking to move into second place all alone behind Andre Agassi:
                      No.
1) Andre Agassi  17 
2) Rafael Nadal   14 
   Roger Federer  14 
4) Pete Sampras  11 
5) Thomas Muster  8            

Open Era Clay Court Title Leaders – At 22, Nadal is already among the all-time clay court title leaders and he’s already more than halfway to the most clay titles in the Open Era
                                        No.
1) Guillermo Vilas                  45
2) Thomas Muster                40
3) Bjorn Borg, Manuel Orantes 30
5) Ivan Lendl, Ilie Nastase      28
7) Rafael Nadal                       24
8) Jose-Luis Clerc                 21
9) Mats Wilander                  20
10)Andres Gomez, Carlos Moya 16

2009 ATP WORLD TOUR MATCH WINS LEADERS – The top two players in ATP World Tour match wins are in Sunday's final:
                          W-L Titles
1) Rafael Nadal      37-3   4
2) Novak Djokovic  30-9   1
3) Andy Murray      29-4   3
4) Andy Roddick     26-5   1
5) Tommy Robredo 26-9    2

CLAY STREAK UPDATE – Nadal has won 29 straight matches on clay (15 in a row this year, 34-1 in sets) going back to May 7, 2008 when he lost to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round (after a bye) in Rome. During the winning streak, he’s won 69 of 73 sets. Since 2005, Nadal has compiled an outstanding 146-4 match record on clay. He is 24-1 lifetime in clay court finals.

2009 ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE LEADERS – Nadal is looking to capture his fifth title on the ATP World Tour this season and Djokovic is trying to add his name to the list of two-time winners in 2009:
               Titles
Rafael Nadal  4  Tommy Robredo  2
Andy Murray  3  Radek Stepanek  2
Marin Cilic      2  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga  2

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-UPS –
(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) Nadal Leads 12-4
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 ret
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4 6-2
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-1 4-1 ret
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal (Canada)Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 2-6 6-2
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-2 7-6(3)
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass F Rafael Nadal 7-6(6)7-5
08 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati  Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-5
08 Beijing Olympics (China) Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 1-6 6-4
09 ESP vs. SRB WG 1st RD (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 6-1
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-3 2-6    6-1

                 Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic
Sets Won:               27    12
Tiebreak Sets Won:    2     0

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay:                      7 (17-2 in sets) 0
 Hard:                     3                     4
 Grass:                    2                     0

NADAL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The three-time champion (2005-07) enters his fourth final with a 21-1 record, including 6-0 against Top 10 opponents…He is trying to become the first player to win four titles in tournament history (since 1930)…Thomas Muster (1990, ’95-96), Martin Mulligan (1963, ’65, ’67) and Jaroslav Drobny (1950-52) are the only other players to win three titles
· On Wednesday, opened with a 62 63 win over top Italian Andreas Seppi and followed with a 61 60 victory over Swede Robin Soderling in the third round…On Friday, beat countryman and No. 6 seed Fernando Verdasco 63 63, saving five of six break points, and followed with the same result over No. 12 seed Fernando Gonzalez in the semi-finals
· Leads the tournament this week in return games won (55%, 18 of 33), service games won (91%, held 30 of 33 games) and No. 2 in break points saved (80%, 12 of 15) and second serve points won (64%)
· Last year lost in the opening round (after a bye) to Juan Carlos Ferrero 75 61 and since then has won 29 in a row on clay
· Two years ago defeated Fernando Gonzalez 62 62 in the title match and in 2006, prevailed in a fifth set tie-break over No. 1 Federer (saved two match points in 5:05 marathon)…In 2005, defeated Argentine Guillermo Coria in a fifth set tie-break (in five hours, 14 minutes)

W: Australian Open (d Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (d Djokovic); Barcelona (d Ferrer); F: Rotterdam (l Murray); QF: Doha (l Monfils); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Del Potro)

2009 in Review:
· The Mallorca native is appearing in his ATP World Tour-best sixth final in eight tournaments this year…Has compiled an ATP World Tour-best 37-3 record (15-0 on clay, 34-1 in sets) this season with four titles, winning at the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells last month and Monte-Carlo two weeks ago…Last Sunday won the Barcelona title for the fifth straight year
· He is also 14-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals, trailing only Andre Agassi (17)…Tied with Federer (14)
· Has won 29 straight matches on clay since losing to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round in Rome on May 7, 2008 (winning 69 of 73 sets during the streak)
· He has an outstanding 146-4 match record on clay since 2005 and in his career is 24-1 in clay court finals…In addition, since the beginning of Monte-Carlo last year when he captured his first ATP World Tour of 2008 through Rome semi-finals, he owns an overall record of 97-8 with 12 titles
· Has a 34-3 career record vs. Top 10 opponents on clay, including 27-1 while in the Top 10 on clay…
His only loss while in Top 10 came to No. 1 Federer in the final of Hamburg in May 2007
· This is the first time in his career he’s won two hard court titles in the first three months of the season
· In March, he captured his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells (d. Murray) and followed with a quarter-final showing at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (l. to del Potro in third set TB)
· Has already surpassed $3 million in prize money, the earliest in a season in men’s tennis
· Began March by leading his country to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup win over Serbia in a home clay tie
 Posted straight-set wins over Janko Tipsarevic and No. 3 Djokovic, losing only serve once in six sets
· Began the season by reaching the quarter-finals in Doha (l. to Monfils) and winning the doubles title (w/M. Lopez) over last year’s No. 1 team of Nestor-Zimonjic
· Then captured his sixth career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, his first on hard courts, with a five-set victory over rival Roger Federer...In semi-final win over countryman Fernando Verdasco, won a tournament record 5:14 battle in five sets
·  He became first Spaniard to win Australian title and third player at age 22-under to win three of four Grand Slam titles, joining Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras...Also first player to win Aussie Open title winning five-set SF and F matches since Mats Wilander in 1988
· On Feb. 15 reached his third career ATP World Tour indoor final (1-2) in Rotterdam and injured his right knee in three-set loss to Murray...Withdrew from Dubai before returning for Davis Cup tie
· Has ranked No. 1 for 37 consecutive weeks since first taking over the top spot on Aug. 18, 2008

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a sparkling 141-28 career match record and a 14-4 mark in finals, winning at least two titles in each of the past five years (2005-09)…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each in 2007-08
· He and Federer are the only players to reach eight different Masters 1000 finals…Prior to this year, the Spaniard has reached the final in every tournament except Cincinnati…Federer had reached every final except Paris (Bercy)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the Mallorca native became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984, in addition to becoming first Spaniard as year-end No. 1 in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)
· Became first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in same year
· Led the ATP World Tour with eight titles in 10 finals, 82 match wins, most matches (93) played and a 17-6 mark against Top 10 opponents ...Also helped his native country to Davis Cup title (vs. Argentina) by winning all three of his matches during year
· He advanced to the semi-finals or better in all four Grand Slam tournaments for first time in his career...
· Opened with runner-up effort in Chennai (l. to Youzhny) and reached SF at Aust. Open (l. to Tsonga)
· In March, reached SF at Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic) and followed with runner-up in Miami (l. to Davydenko)...Began year with a 22-6 record in first six tournaments before going 60-5 rest of season
· During clay court circuit, won titles at Monte Carlo (d. Federer) and Barcelona (d. Ferrer) for fourth straight year and for first time at Hamburg (d. Federer)...Lost his only clay match (24-1) in 2nd Rd. at Rome (l. to Ferrero)
· Captured his fourth straight Roland Garros crown (d. Federer) and became first player since Borg in 1978-81 to accomplish feat...Also first player since Borg in 1980 to win without dropping a set in Paris
· Then moved to grass and won titles at Queen’s (d. Karlovic, Roddick, Djokovic) and Wimbledon, defeating five-time champ Federer in a 4:48 marathon (9-7 in fifth set) in longest final at All England Club...Became first Spaniard to capture Wimbledon title since Manuel Santana in 1966
· Three weeks later in Toronto, earned his first hard court title of season (d. Murray in SF, Kiefer in F)...Following week in Cincinnati, reached SF (l. to Djokovic), ending his career-best 32-match winning streak...His result guaranteed No. 1 ranking on Aug. 18, which he obtained after earning gold medal at Beijing Olympics (d. Gonzalez)
· Spent a record 160 straight weeks at No. 2 from July 25, 2005 to Aug. 17, 2008
· Then advanced to first SF at US Open (l. to Murray)...Later in month, defeated Querrey and Roddick in Davis Cup SF to lead Spain into final...Clinched year-end No. 1 at Madrid with SF effort (l. to Simon)

DJOKOVIC FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 21-year-old defending champion (11-1 mark) defeated No. 2 Roger Federer 46 63 63 in the semi-finals, the only set he’s dropped this week…Broke Federer five times in the final two sets…He beat No. 5 ranked Juan Martin del Potro 64 63 on Friday and the previous day ousted No. 13 seed Tommy Robredo 61 61…He opened on Tuesday with a 76(5) 60 victory over Spaniard Albert Montanes
· In the first four rounds has won 19 of 39 return games (49%) and converted 19 of 33 break points (58%) while holding serve 33 of 40 games (83%)…Was broken three times against Federer
· Last year, rallied to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka 46 63 63 in the final and went through the tournament without facing a seed…Posted wins over Belgian Steve Darcis (64 60), Igor Andreev (63 36 63), Nicolas Almagro (61 1-0 ret., right wrist injury) and Radek Stepanek (60 10 ret., heat stress)
· Made his debut two years ago and reached the quarter-finals (d. Soderling, Baghdatis, l. to eventual champion Nadal 62 63)

2009 Highlights:
W: Dubai (d Ferrer); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); SF: Sydney (l Nieminen); Marseille (l Tsonga); QF: Australian Open (l Roddick); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Roddick)

2009 in Review:
· The World No. 3 has a 30-9 record on the season (8-3 on clay) and he is appearing in his third straight ATP World Tour final…Two weeks ago he was runner-up in Monte-Carlo where he lost in three sets to Nadal 63 26 61…It was his first clay court tournament of the year
· In his previous tournament he reached the final in Miami on Apr. 5 (d. Federer in SF, l. to Murray)
· He is making his ninth career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final appearance (4-4), and fourth final of the season (1-2) and 21st of his career (12-8)…He is 3-2 lifetime in clay finals
· He must defend his title or Andy Murray will move to No. 3 on May 11 when the 2008 Rome points drop
· Since opening the year with a first round loss to Ernests Gulbis in Brisbane, has reached the quarter-finals or better in his next eight tournaments (including Rome)
· Has a 5-5 mark vs. Top 10 opponents this year (25-35 in his career)
· In March at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, came in as defending champion and lost to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals…Earlier in the month lost both of his singles matches on clay in a first round Davis Cup tie in Spain, falling to David Ferrer and Nadal in fourth rubber, which clinched the tie
· Prior to Davis Cup, defeated No. 8 Gilles Simon (SF) and David Ferrer (on Feb. 28) in the Dubai final for his first ATP World Tour title of the season
· In first month of action advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney (l. to Nieminen) and was one match win away from becoming No. 2 ranked player…Followed with a quarter-final at the Australian Open where he retired vs. Roddick in the fourth set due to heat illness…Also reached the semi-finals in Marseille (l. to Tsonga) before winning first ATP World Tour title of the season following week in Dubai (d. Ferrer)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a 72-26 career match record and 4-4 in finals, winning two titles in each of the past two years…In Monte-Carlo he was appearing in his sixth different ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (l. to Nadal)
· Defeated Tsonga and No. 2 Federer back-to-back to reach the final in Miami (l to Murray) on Apr. 5
· In 2007, reached his first final in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal) and followed with his first title at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (d. Canas)…Later that year, won the title in Montreal, defeating the Top 3 players in succession – No. 3 Roddick (QF), No. 2 Nadal (SF) and No. 1 Federer (F)
· Last year, won titles in Indian Wells (d. Fish) and Rome (d. Wawrinka) while reaching the final in Cincinnati (l. to Murray)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the young Serb finished No. 3 for a second straight season...The last player to do that was Pete Sampras in 1999-2000…Has ranked No. 3 every week since July 9, 2007 except one (Aug. 6, ’07)
· Captured four titles in six finals, winning Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai as well as his first Grand Slam crown at the Aust. Open (d. Federer in SF, Tsonga in F)...Only dropped one set, that coming in the final
· In March, reached semi-finals in Dubai (l. to Roddick) and followed with title in Indian Wells (d. Nadal in SF, Fish in F)…After a 17-4 start in first three months, played well on clay (16-3) with SF at Monte Carlo (ret. to Federer), won title at Rome (d. Wawrinka) and reached semi-finals at Hamburg and Roland Garros (l. to Nadal both times)...Had chance to move to No. 2 in last two events with a win over Nadal
· On grass, advanced to final at Queen’s (l. to Nadal), before losing in 2nd Rd. at Wimbledon to Safin
· During summer hard court circuit, reached QF in Toronto, final at Cincinnati (l. to Murray both times), won bronze medal at Beijing Olympics (d. Blake) and advanced to SF at US Open (l. to Federer)
· Qualified for second straight Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, defeating Davydenko for the title

DOUBLES FINAL – ATP WORLD TOUR NO. 1 BRYANS TO MEET NO. 2 NESTOR-ZIMONJIC
· ATP World Tour No. 1 and defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan take on rivals and No. 2 seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the final on Sunday for the second time in three weeks. The Bryans lost in the Monte-Carlo final two weeks ago.
· Nestor and Zimonjic, who have an 11-match winning streak, made their team debut in Rome last year and finished runner-up to the Bryans in a tightly-contested final. Both are former champions in the Italian capital. The 36-year-old Nestor won the title in 1997 and 2006 with former long-time partner Mark Knowles, while the 32-year-old Zimonjic was victorious in 2006 with Fabrice Santoro.
· Currently No. 2 in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings, Nestor and Zimonjic have a 22-6 match record and are playing in their sixth ATP World Tour final of the season (3-2). They reached back-to-back finals at the start of the year in Doha and Sydney before winning their first title of the campaign in Rotterdam (d. Dlouhy-Paes). They won titles the past two weeks in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.
· Nestor will contest his 101st tour-level doubles final (58-42 record), while Zimonjic will appear in his 47th title match and has a 26-21 record.
· The Bryans, who turned 31 on Wednesday, are chasing their fifth tour-level title of the season in sixth final to join victories at Sydney (d. Nestor-Zimonjic), the Australian Open (d. Bhupathi-Knowles), Delray Beach (d. Melo-Sa) and Houston (d. Levine-Sweeting).
· They have a 33-5 match record this season and are appearing in their 88th career final together (53-34 in finals).