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For the 54th time in their storied careers, No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal will go head-to-head when they meet in the 2019 Italian Open final Sunday in Rome.
In the United States, the match is scheduled to start at about 10 a.m. ET (depending when Konta vs Pliskova ends) and will be televised on the Tennis Channel.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the match via a free trial of FuboTV
Tennis Channel is one of 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the match on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the match (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
2019 Italian Open Final Preview
The two most successful men in the history of this tournament, Nadal has secured eight Italian Open titles, while Djokovic has four and is also the only person to have beaten Nadal in a Rome final (2011, 2014).
Overall, seven of their 53 previous head-to-head meetings have come in Rome: Nadal emerged victorious in the 2007 quarters (6-2, 6-3), 2009 final (7-6(2),6-2), 2012 final (7-5,6-3) and 2018 semis (7-6(4), 6-3), and Djokovic picked up wins in the 2011 final (6-4, 6-4), 2014 final (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) and 2016 quarters (7-5, 7-6(4)).
After surprisingly coming up empty on clay so far this season, Nadal has strolled to his 11th Rome final. After dropping just six total games in wins over Jeremy Chardy, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Fernando Verdasco, the King of Clay got revenge against Stefanos Tsitsipas–who beat Nadal in Madrid–in straight sets in the semis.
A win Sunday would put an end to an unprecedented title-less streak, as his last trophy came in August in Toronto.
“He keeps on showing to the world why he’s one of the biggest legends of tennis history,” Djokovic said. “I have the greatest respect for him. He’s my greatest rival of all time, for sure… Every time we get to play each other, it’s a thrill. It’s the ultimate challenge.”
Djokovic’s route to this match hasn’t been nearly as smooth.
He made easy work of Denis Shapovalov and Philipp Kohlschreiber in his opening two matches, but Djoker was pushed to three sets by both Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters and Diego Schwartzman in the semis. In the former, he faced a pair of match points before making the dramatic comeback.
Nevertheless, Djoker appears mostly back on track after surprising defeats against Kohlschreiber (Indian Wells), Roberto Bautista Agut (Miami) and Danil Medvedev (Monte Carlo). He captured his third Madrid title last week, and now he’s on to his seventh Rome final in the last nine years.
Djokovic and Nadal most recently met in the Australian Open final earlier this year, with Djoker getting the straight-set victory. Prior to that, they met at Wimbledon in 2018 for a five-set instant classic, which Djokovic also won.
Overall, Djokovic has won nine of the last 11 against his long-time rival.
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