Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal bring rivalry to Thailand
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 8 Rafael Nadal will square off in an exhibition match next month in Thailand. Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand president Suwat Liptapanlop confirmed on Thursday that two of the world’s top-ranked players will play their match on Oct. 2 at Bangkok’s Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.
Djokovic and Nadal are currently in the middle of their campaign at the US Open, but the two tennis pros have already extended their long-standing rivalry up in Bangkok next month. Suwat said the match between Djokovic and Nadal will be important for the country’s tourist industry, after deadly bombing of the Ewan Shrine took place last month. “[The match will] boost confidence of Thailand’s safety and the business returns to usual,” Suwat said, reports ESPN.
Djokovic last visited Thailand in 2008, when he lost the final of the ATP Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, while “The King of Clay” last came to the Bangkok in 2010 for the same tournament and lost to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez in the semifinals. The pair last faced each other at the quarterfinal stage of this summer’s French Open, where the Serbian thrashed Nadal in straight sets 7-5 6-3 6-1 to become the second man to defeat the Spanish tennis pro at the tournament.
The two have been so far in top-form in the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, convincingly advancing to the third round of the Grand Slam tournament. Nadal dismissed Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in a tightly-contested straight sets 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5.
Schwartzman put up a might fight in racing to an early break lead in the third set, but Nadal regained in time to close out the 2-hour and 41-minute match in three sets. Nadal felt he served well against the Argentine international, but admitted Schwartzman also played well in their match.
"He was trying to play very aggressive. When you play against a player that they are able to take all the risks with not much pressure, so then it is a little bit more difficult to have the control of the point,” Nadal told ATP World Tour’s official website ATP World Tour’s official website.
Meanwhile, Djokovic easily progressed to the third round of the US Open after cruising past Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4 6-1 6-2. “Djoker” only needed 91 minutes to finish off Haider-Maurer and get close to his third Grand Slam of the year. The 28-year-old Serbian will take on Andreas Seppi in the last 32 round, while Nadal booked a third-round match against Fabio Fogini of Italy.
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