Monte Carlo Final

Well, one half of the dream final made it to the party. Rafael Nadal dismissed David Ferrer without too much trouble. Surprisingly, Novak Djokovic was dismissed with similar ease by Fernando Verdasco. This is not the result that Novak was looking for, but I think that there may have been a mitigating factor in his defeat. This may sound outlandish, but stick with me for a moment. The ash which has been strewn into the atmosphere by the volcano in Iceland has gotten into the air over Europe, carried by wind currents. Airports have been affected, and presumably, the air quality on the continent has degraded as well.

Djokovic's breathing problems have been observed on many occasions, and it could be that this little difference in the air, coupled with Djokovic's own professed allergies over the past few days, may have affected his level of play in his semifinal appearance.

It's a shame, in a way, because even though Djokovic hadn't been playing well enough to really trouble Nadal, I give Verdasco almost no chance against his Spanish superior. Their overall head to head is 0-9 in favorite of the man from Mallorca. They've had a few really tight matches, including their memorable semifinal from the Australian Open in 2009, but that was on Verdasco's best surface, not Nadal's.

I just don't see how Verdasco is going to be able to trouble Nadal, here. The only thing working in his favor is how long Nadal has gone since winning a tournament, and how he's going for ATP history tomorrow by being the first player ever to win a tournament for six years running. But Verdasco has never been in a Master's Series final, before. So it's breaking new ground for him, as well. I expect Nadal to take the title, restore order to the tour, and make some history in the process.