Drew
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2 great matches in Melbourne. Tonight at 3:30 am ET its Petra Kvitova vs Naomi Osaka (beat Serena in last year’s US Open Final. Then tomorrow 3:30 am ET its Nadal v Djokovic.
Men’s Final Preview: 2019 Australian Open odds, predictions for men's finals: Red-hot tennis expert picks Djokovic vs. Nadal
Djokovic owns a strong 14-5 advantage in outdoor hardcourt matches versus Nadal and that the top seed looked "clinical in his destruction of poor Lucas Pouille in the semifinals," a match Djokovic won 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. The match lasted just one hour, 23 minutes, with Djokovic making just five unforced errors. If the favored Djokovic wins on Sunday, he'd surpass Roy Emerson and Roger Federer in all-time Australian Open titles, so there's plenty at stake.
But just because Djokovic is in fine form and on the verge of his third straight Grand Slam championship doesn't mean he'll get the job done against Nadal, who arguably has been even more impressive in the Australian Open 2019.
Nadal hasn't lost a set all tournament and hasn't been broken since his opening match. "Nadal has been far more aggressive than we've seen him perhaps ever in his career, not willing to engage in many, if any, long rallies, instead hitting his serve far harder, and his backhand too," Calvert told SportsLine.
"The performance against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal was superb in its brutality," he added. "Nadal was clubbing winners off the backhand."
Women’s Final Preview: Patrick McEnroe's keys to the Naomi Osaka-Petra Kvitova Australian Open final
Make no mistake about it: This Australian Open final pits the two best players in the world against each other. Sorry, Serena, Simona and Angie.
The winner between Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova on Saturday (3:30 a.m. ET on ESPN) will become the No. 1 player -- and a deserved one. (The other will be No. 2.) Normally in the past few years, we put an imaginary asterisk next to the top-ranked women in tennis. The reason? Serena Williams, of course.
But not this time. While Serena has been so close since coming back from maternity leave, she still has not captured a 24th Grand Slam title (which would tie the all-time record). Meanwhile, Kvitova and Osaka have taken their power games to another level.
Men’s Final Preview: 2019 Australian Open odds, predictions for men's finals: Red-hot tennis expert picks Djokovic vs. Nadal
Djokovic owns a strong 14-5 advantage in outdoor hardcourt matches versus Nadal and that the top seed looked "clinical in his destruction of poor Lucas Pouille in the semifinals," a match Djokovic won 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. The match lasted just one hour, 23 minutes, with Djokovic making just five unforced errors. If the favored Djokovic wins on Sunday, he'd surpass Roy Emerson and Roger Federer in all-time Australian Open titles, so there's plenty at stake.
But just because Djokovic is in fine form and on the verge of his third straight Grand Slam championship doesn't mean he'll get the job done against Nadal, who arguably has been even more impressive in the Australian Open 2019.
Nadal hasn't lost a set all tournament and hasn't been broken since his opening match. "Nadal has been far more aggressive than we've seen him perhaps ever in his career, not willing to engage in many, if any, long rallies, instead hitting his serve far harder, and his backhand too," Calvert told SportsLine.
"The performance against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal was superb in its brutality," he added. "Nadal was clubbing winners off the backhand."
Women’s Final Preview: Patrick McEnroe's keys to the Naomi Osaka-Petra Kvitova Australian Open final
Make no mistake about it: This Australian Open final pits the two best players in the world against each other. Sorry, Serena, Simona and Angie.
The winner between Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova on Saturday (3:30 a.m. ET on ESPN) will become the No. 1 player -- and a deserved one. (The other will be No. 2.) Normally in the past few years, we put an imaginary asterisk next to the top-ranked women in tennis. The reason? Serena Williams, of course.
But not this time. While Serena has been so close since coming back from maternity leave, she still has not captured a 24th Grand Slam title (which would tie the all-time record). Meanwhile, Kvitova and Osaka have taken their power games to another level.
