#360view: Nadal looks to crush Djokovic's career goal

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  • Nadal and Djokovic will meet in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros on Wednesday.

    The mind games started the second each of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal finished their fourth round matches to set-up the quarter-final everyone has been waiting for.

    It is a strange situation. The favourite – Djokovic – is the player that has never won the title and has been on the losing side of this particular match-up at Roland Garros all six times. 

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    And the underdog – Nadal – is a history-maker at this tournament. A Spanish raging bull who has claimed the title nine times in 10 attempts. 

    Yet on that specific court and at this particular event, the lines between favourite and not get blurred as Nadal does what he does best – that is to consistently improve his level on the clay in Paris.

    Everyone who was ruling Nadal out before the start of tournament have gradually become lukewarm in their conviction. 

    Those backing Djokovic 100 per cent nine days ago are suddenly down to 50 per cent. That is the magic of Nadal in Boulogne. It’s like he becomes possessed here, except not by a ghost but by a spirit of a warrior. 

    But that’s not to say the Mallorcan won’t need a little help to strengthen his cause. 

    In a clear attempt to appeal to the tough home crowd, he had his on-court interview with Cedric Pioline in French, even though he is really bad at it. But it was a smart decision to try and sway them his way as much as possible ahead of a monumental showdown tomorrow.
    Despite him ruling the courts at Roland Garros for the past decade, it’s hard to decide whether the French have embraced Nadal or not. And it made sense that he’d want to find a way to connect with them – especially with Djokovic charming his way into their hearts every other day, conducting his interviews in far more advanced French than the Spaniard.

    Djokovic went as far as asking the Roland Garros crowd on Monday if his interviewer, beloved French former player Fabrice Santoro, should unretire and play at the French Open next year, before offering to play doubles with the veteran. 

    Djokovic is a master when it comes to these things and the crowd were eating it up. Nadal certainly had to do something. 

    In the press room, the mind games continued. One player is definitely more desperate than the other. Djokovic has flat out declared Roland Garros is his No1 target as he tries to become one of just eight people – joining Nadal and Roger Federer – to complete a career grand slam while Nadal has repeatedly been saying ‘even if I lose here, it’s not the end of the world’. 

    With that in mind, it is Nadal who has been more reserved with regards to discussing the match-up while Djokovic has been openly reciting all the reasons he believes he is ready to take on the King of Clay here once again.

    “I have won many tournaments and matches this year. I still haven’t lost on clay courts,” Djokovic said on Monday. “I couldn’t ask for a better lead-up to that match.”

    Nadal made sure he pointed out one important note, which is that the nerves he admitted to having back in Miami last March are no longer there. That was crucial for him to state because the last thing he wants is for Djokovic to think he’s scared. 

    We’ll find out in 24 hours who will come out on top. At the moment it looks like it’s at 50-50.

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