French Open - Novak Djokovic confident but Rafael Nadal still favourite

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by Crunch Sports Staff

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Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is in confident mood ahead of the start of the French Open later this month after beating Rafael Nadal in the final of the Rome Masters

The Serbian continued his incredible start to 2011, with his straight sets win over the world number one on Sunday taking his unbeaten streak to 39 matches.

Bookmakers still make Nadal favourite to win the French Open, but Djokovic's odds have been gradually shortening over the past few weeks.

The world number two is looking unstoppable after beating Nadal twice in less than a fortnight following his recent win at the Madrid Masters, but Djokovic insists Nadal is still the player to beat at Roland Garros.

"He's the king of clay, he's the best ever to play on this surface, he's been so dominant on clay courts," Djokovic said of the Spaniard.

"Yes I won two matches in the last eight days and that's incredible for me, it gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the French Open.

"But it's just two tournaments whereas he's been so dominant for so many years."

Following his defeat in Rome, Nadal paid tribute to the Serb, saying: "Every week he's winning matches, he's playing fantastically, he's doing a lot of things very well and he has a lot of confidence."

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