Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Rafael Nadal in the 2019 Mubadala World Tennis Championships final. The Greek managed to upset the world #2 Novak Djokovic in order to advance to the final, while Nadal pulled off a very solid performance to defeat Karen Khachanov. Who do you think will prevail? Djokovic will get a chance to square off against the Russian in a third-place play-off.
Mubadala World Tennis Championships Final Prediction
Novak Djokovic vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: Djokovic 2-1
How serious will the players be about the third place play-off? A significant amount of money will be at stake so it is likely that Djokovic and Khachanov will want to play their best tennis. The Russian defeated Hyeon Chung, but fell short in the semifinals to the world #1 Nadal. Djokovic ended up taking the opening set against Tsitsipas but was unable to keep up his level and despite almost staging a huge comeback in the second set, lost the match 6-3 6-7 4-6.
But the 16-time Grand Slam champion will be back on court on Saturday to play Khachanov. The two have just squared off about a month ago at the Davis Cup Finals and there’s not much to suggest that the result be different this time around. When Djokovic’s defense is peaking, there’s just not much the Russian can do. If Khachanov was to win this one, big and consistent serving would have to be the key.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Rafael Nadal
Head-to-head: Nadal 5-1
There won’t be a Djokovic-Nadal matchup everyone was waiting for. Tsitsipas took down Novak Djokovic to play Rafael Nadal for the trophy. Can he beat the Spaniard? The history of their previous meetings shows that it might be quite a challenge. While Tsitsipas has the all-court game to challenge his opponent, it is still extremely tough to get through the Spaniard’s defence. There could have been concerns about how Tsitsipas will respond to his recent ATP Finals success, but he’s pretty much answered all the questions, picking up right where he left off with a win over Djokovic.
But this time, on the other side of the net will be the world no.1 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has only lost to Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev since May and he’ll be extremely tough to beat. He was also the key factor in Spain’s inaugural Davis Cup Finals win. Although it is an exhibition event, Nadal is known to have the will to fight for every point.
Tsitsipas’ backhand is not a consistent enough rally tool, which will give him a lot of trouble against the Spaniard. To beat Nadal, you need to keep him on the back foot. It is unlikely that the Greek will have that sort of consistency.
Nadał is a four-time champion of the event and although there are no ranking points to gain, the Spaniard surely treats it as an important test in his off-season routine. He was brilliant while beating Russia’s no. 2 Karen Khachanov and is likely to pick up right where he left off.
Prediction: Nadal in 2
Mubadala World Tennis Championships Final Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
