Wimbledon 2011 Live: Rafael Nadal vs. Juan Martin Del Potro

Rafael Nadal: Man on a mission

For a man who has just won his sixth French Open title, how unusual it would be to court speculation on being on the decline. Rafael Nadal is surely anything but a man on decline. The Spaniard did struggle on way to the final at Rolland Garros but it made the eventual triumph all the more sweet. Nadal’s game has been characterized by loads of stamina, and if the match goes on for long durations the probability of his coming out as victor increases. The left hander is just 26 years of age and has at least 3-4 years of prime performance left in him. The sort of prime performance during which he will win grand slams regularly.

I believe a lot of this irrational speculation is because of the rise of Novak Djokovic this year. The Serb has been a competitor in past but never before have we seen him as a successor to the throne of world no. 1. I believe Roger Federer is still more likely to grab that position briefly than Djokovic. Djokovic has earned a lot of experience and he is putting it to great effect but there is nothing better for a player than grand slam wins. It makes you a lot more surer of your game and brings about a change of attitude. Novak Djokovic has not done that regularly as yet.

Meanwhile, Nadal will take on a threatening Juan Martin Del Potro on Center Court on Monday. This match will give us a fair idea of Nadal’s preparation for the most coveted grand slam. He has had it rather easy so far and defeated Muller 7-6, 7-6, 6-0 in Round 3. The no.1 seed not lost a set in Wimbledon 2011 so far and has thrown a lot of winners. It will be a bad omen for some of his competitors if he gets through Del Potro without any trouble.

Del Potro faced Novak Djokovic in the French Open and even though he was unable to stop the “Djoke” juggernaut, he did put up a brave fight. His performance on grass court is certainly not as good as on clay court, his record at Wimbledon shows that. However that being said, he has improved over the last two years and after missing out last year; he would be dying to make a mark. When you are trying to make a mark on the face of World Tennis, there can be nothing more satisfying than felling the world no.1 and Potro will have a shot at that.

This match will be played on Center Court after the match between Venus Williams and Tsvetana Pironkova.