Nadal, Djokovic to meet in blockbuster Monte Carlo final

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal's bid for an eighth straight Monte Carlo Masters crown won't come easy, as the clay court king will have to do it against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.
Nadal ran his winning streak on the Monte Carlo clay to 41 straight matches with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second of Saturday's semifinals.
Djokovic had a more difficult opening semifinal, rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych. The Serbian star, who resides in Monte Carlo, previously reached the final of this event in 2009 and became one of Nadal's many victims in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 setback to the Spanish stalwart.
"It will be the most difficult match for me in this tournament," said Djokovic about facing Nadal. "He's the player to beat here. He's the player to beat on clay courts. He's the best ever in the history of the sport on this surface. It's the ultimate challenge. I need to play well. I need to play well from the first to the last point. I cannot have ups and downs. I cannot afford that against Rafa. I'm aware of that. But why not believe that I can win?"
While Nadal's success at this event has been unparalleled, Djokovic has clearly held the upper hand in their recent matchups with seven straight wins since the start of the 2011 season. Djokovic, during his dominant 2011 campaign, did not play at Monte Carlo last year.
Each of the last seven meetings have come in finals, including a pair of clay events last year. Djokovic posted straight-set wins on the slow surface last year in Madrid and Rome.
Djokovic will play in his third final of 2012, having already captured titles at the Australian Open and Miami Masters. He beat Nadal in a five-set thriller for the championship at the year's first Grand Slam.
Nadal, meanwhile, has not won a tournament since capturing the French Open last spring. He didn't have to face Djokovic at Roland Garros thanks to Roger Federer's semifinal win.
Sunday's final will be the second of the year for Nadal, who followed his loss to Djokovic in Melbourne with semifinal setbacks to Federer at Indian Wells and Andy Murray in Miami. He withdrew before the Miami semifinal because of a knee injury.
Overall, Nadal still holds a 16-14 advantage in the lifetime series against Djokovic, but hasn't tasted victory since a round-robin win at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals.
It's been a tough week for Djokovic, who is playing after learning of the death of his grandfather on Thursday.
A win for Nadal on Sunday would give him 20 career Masters titles, breaking a tie with Federer. He is also 46-21 all-time in finals, while Djokovic owns a mark of 30-14 in title matches.
Sunday's winner will collect $603,000.

Source:  http://www.canada.com/sports/tennis/Nadal+Djokovic+meet+blockbuster+Monte+Carlo+final/6497819/story.html

Toni Nadal: Rafael Nadal to start training on Wednesday

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal uncle and Coach Toni Nadal insists that, Rafa is going to begin the training session from Wednesday, where he will start preparations for Monte Carlo Masters championship.

10-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who has been improving his knee treatment and first training session will kick off from Wednesday said Toni Nadal. He added doctors advised to take couple of days and must follow the program to recover soon from knee injury.

  Nadal will get six to seven days to prepare better for the 2012 Monte Carlo Masters 1000 series ATP Tournament, before heading into the Monte Carlo.

Toni Nadal said Nadal should focus more on his fitness, where he is schedule to play seven major ATP tournaments this season, including Summer Olympics in London and will defend French Open at Roland Garros. Spaniard is looking forward to win Monte Carlo Masters tournament for eighth straight time in their career, as he won seven consecutive titles from 2005 to 2011.

25-year-old Nadal is likely to be seed as No. 2, ahead of the five-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic as No. 1 in the Monte Carlo Masters championship, an ATP World Tour 1000 series event, being played here on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France.

Source: http://www.livetennisguide.com/2012/04/09/toni-nadal-rafael-nadal-to-start-training-on-wednesday/