Sprinting, sliding and stretching, anticipating each other’s moves for four sets and over four hours, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal produced a masterpiece in the French Open semifinals.
Djokovic halted Nadal’s offered for a fourteenth French Open title and gave the King of Clay simply his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament by returning to win a thrill ride of an semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 at Roland Garros on Friday night.
In one more display of tremendous tennis between the rivals, the match lasted on for 4 hours, 11 minutes. In the wake of trailing 0-2 in the fourth set, Djokovic rattled off six consecutive games to avenge his loss to Nadal in last year’s final.
“Just one of these nights and matches that you will remember forever,” said the top-cultivated Djokovic, who arrived at his 6th last at the clay-court major tournament to tie Bjorn Borg for No. 2 in the occasion behind Nadal (13).
“Definitely the best match that I was part of ever in Roland Garros, for me, and (one of the) top three matches that I ever played in my entire career — considering quality of tennis, playing my biggest rival on the court where he has had so much success and has been the dominant force in the last 15-plus years. And the atmosphere, which was completely electric.”
The 34-year-old Djokovic will look for his second prize at Roland Garros and a nineteenth significant title generally speaking when he plays in Sunday’s last against fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is only 22.
It will be the 29th career Grand Slam last for Djokovic, and the first for Tsitsipas, who beat Alexander Zverev in five sets in an semifinal match prior Friday.
Nadal had won the past four titles in Paris, part of his assortment of 20 Slams, attached with Roger Federer for the most by a man in tennis history.
Nadal, a 14-time winner of the French Open who turned 35 last week, fell to 105-3 in his profession at Roland Garros. His first loss came against Robin Soderling in 2009; the following against Djokovic in 2015.
“Each time you step on the court with him,” Djokovic said, “you know that you have to kind of climb Mount Everest to win against this guy here.”
Nadal and Djokovic truly riled up the group at Court Philippe Chatrier.
Halfway through the third set, Djokovic won a 23-stroke point with a forehand winner and windmilled his arms about half-dozen times, earning a standing ovation and chants of “No-vak! No-vak!” On the following point, Nadal produced a forehand winner and screamed, prompting chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” and a wave in the stands.
Nadal said the defining moment came when Djokovic saved a set point while down 6-5 in the third.
“Anything could happen in that moment,” Nadal said. “I make a double fault and then [miss on] an easy volley in the tiebreak. … These kinds of mistakes can happen. But if you want to win, you can’t make those mistakes. That is it. Well done for him. A good fight out there. I tried my best and today was not my day.”
The third set alone endured 60 minutes, 33 minutes, and a 11 p.m. nationwide curfew in time set up due to COVID-19 was drawing closer. Djokovic’s past match had been deferred over 20 minutes while the audience – limited to 5,000 individuals under Covid limitations – was gotten out of the arena, yet a declaration was made Friday to tell everybody the public authority consented to allow them to remain until the finish of the match.
Prior drones in French of “We won’t leave! We won’t leave!” were replaced by choruses of the national anthem and cheers of thanks for President Emmanuel Macron.
Nadal recovered from the dropped third-set tiebreaker to steal a break at the start of the fourth.
Neither would surrender or yield, yet Djokovic crushed spirit to 2-all and was on his way.
“Something clicked,” Djokovic said.
Nadal noted thereafter that playing in the cooler night air implied balls bounced lower, lessening the impact of his lefty forehand’s heavy topspin.
“That’s more favorable for him, the conditions,” Nadal said. “By the way, doesn’t matter. That’s tennis. The player who gets used to the conditions better is the player who deserves to win. So no doubt, he deserved to win.”
The intensity was palpable from the beginning of the evening, and Nadal zoomed to a 5-0 lead on the way to winning the main set. It was reminiscent of last year’s final, which he won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. That was just the fourth shutout set lost by Djokovic in 341 vocation Grand Slam matches up to that point – and the first in a major final.
Nadal tumbled to 259-7 in majors in the wake of winning the first set; as per ESPN Stats and Information research. Two of those seven misfortunes presently have been to Djokovic.
There wouldn’t be another Friday, on the grounds that Djokovic made two key tactical adjustments – moving a lot further back than expected to return serve and choosing to zero in on serving toward Nadal’s strike – and quickly made clear this would be an exemplary between two of the best ever at what they do.
They defended in ways rarely seen. Tracked down the right blend of force and contact. Conjured up impossible-at-first-glance winners that nobody else would attempt, not to mention effectively utilize. Returned just as anybody, combining to generate 38 break points.
It was the 58th matchup between the opponents, more than some other two men in the game’s proficient time. Djokovic currently drives 30-28, however he trails 10-7 in Slam meetings and 7-2 at the French Open.
Djokovic won the French Open in 2016 and could join Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the lone men to win every one of the four Grand Slam tournaments twice.