Rafael Nadal calls Goran Ivanisevic 'arrogant' for boastful French Open final prediction

Despite his well-deserved title as the 'King of Clay', Rafael Nadal was not a shoo-in for the French Open 2020 title. After a shaky performance at the Rome Masters event that acted as a precursor to the clay-court Grand Slam, Nadal's fitness was in some doubt. Nadal lost the Rome Masters quarter-final to Argentinian challenger Diego Schwartzman, raising some questions about whether he was totally ready for a comeback in Paris. However, the World No.2 laid all questions to rest with his commanding win at the tournament. 

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Nadal reacts to Goran Ivanisevic's pre-French Open final comments

One of the biggest talking points of the French Open 2020 season was, surprisingly, about the weather. The tournament had lost its usual spring/summer spot and had been shifted to the colder, rainier fall weather in Paris and this had greatly altered playing conditions. The ball wasn't spinning as much and wasn't bouncing high enough in the humid clay. All the talk was about how this would affect Rafael Nadal's spin and bounce dependent game.

One of the more outspoken proponents of this theory was World No.1 Novak Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic. Before the final, Ivanisevic made a bold claim that Rafael Nadal had "no chance" of beating Djokovic as the court conditions were overwhelmingly in favour of the latter. However, as always, Nadal proved unbeatable on clay. He rampaged through each of his opponents, including Djokovic, winning the Slam without dropping a single set. 

During the La Resistencia chat show hosted by David Broncano, Rafa revealed that he had not heard of the former World No.2's comments until after the match. "I swear that I didn't hear what Ivanisevic said before the final. Someone told me after”. In saying this though, Nadal agreed that while "It was a bit arrogant of him [Ivanisevic], the conditions were better for Novak”. 

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Nadal year-end No.1 and Paris Masters

If he wins at the Paris Masters 1000 this month (that he has never won before), Nadal will add 1000 points to his current 9850, inching closer to Djokovic's 11740. Djokovic's upset at the Vienna 500 meant that he only got 90 points from his time there. If Djokovic succeeds at retaining his No.1 spot until March 8, 2021, he will beat Roger Federer's record of most weeks spent at No.1. This will now be dependent on Nadal's result in Paris and the pair's results at the ATP Finals in London. 

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Nadal vs Djokovic head to head

The Nadal vs Djokovic head to head stands at a close 29-27 in favour of Djokovic. Of the 56 meetings between Rafa and Djokovic,16 have been at the Grand Slams. Nadal's win at the French Open 2020 brought Nadal's Grand Slams tally to a record-equalling 20 titles. Compared to the Nadal Grand Slams tally, Djokovic's number stands at 17.

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Image Credits: Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar Twitter