3 times Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met at Wimbledon ft. epic 5-set marathon in 2018
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have one of the most famous rivalries in the history of the sport. The duo have met each other 59 times, with the Serb leading by the slimmest of margins 30-29.
Three of these matches have come at Wimbledon, the 137th edition of which begins in a couple of days’ time. While Nadal has chosen to skip the tournament this season to focus on the Paris Olympics, Djokovic will bid to claim his eighth crown at the All England Club.
A fourth edition of the famed Djokovic-Nadal rivalry at Wimbledon may not be in the offing, but the occasion still makes a good time to revisit the duo’s last three matches. Here, we take a look at how things unfolded:
2018 Wimbledon five set marathon
From dramatic shifts in momentum to back-and-forth tiebreakers to a fifth set that went into extra games, this one had it all. The five-set marathon ended with Novak Djokovic coming out on top 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-8 in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships semifinal.
The Serb began the contest well, handling the heavy forehands and surprisingly frequent backhand slices from Rafael Nadal to edge out a high-quality first set. But with the Spaniard upping the tempo, the match began to heat up nicely mid-way through the second set.
The third set was right in the balance at 6-6, but Djokovic showed his mental fortitude to edge his opponent out 11-9 in the shootout.
Nadal came back strong in the fifth and the two returned to the back-and-forth that had characterized the entire contest. The Spaniard finally showed signs of breaking down towards the fag end of the encounter. Down 0-40 in the eighteenth game of the decider, he pushed a forehand wide to send Djokovic into his first Slam final in nearly two years.
The fact that Djokovic was ranked outside the top-20 and going through a rough period made the match all that more special. It marked the Serb’s resurgence and he would go on to beat Kevin Anderson in the summit clash in straight sets. He was also back to being the World No. 1 before the end of the year.
Novak Djokovic wins the 2011 Wimbledon final
Of the three times that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played at Wimbledon, only one meeting came in the final.
Both men were placed well heading into the 2011 final. While Nadal was a two-time former champion, Djokovic was the second seed hungry for a first win.
Nadal, the top seed, had swept into the second week with three consecutive straight-set wins. His first challenge came against Juan Martin Del Potro, but he came through in four tight sets. He dropped a set each against Mardy Fish and Andy Murray in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively, but was never in real danger of bowing out.
Djokovic had a similar trajectory, having been pushed to four sets in three of his six matches leading up to the final. But once out on the big stage, the Serb was a man on a mission. He started strongly to take a 6-4, 6-1 lead. The more impressive thing, however, was the way he bounced back after losing the third tamely 6-1.
Djokovic secured the decisive break in the eighth game of the fourth set and calmly served out the match in the next. He fell to his ground in celebration and set into action his now famous grass-eating tradition as he lifted his first Wimbledon trophy.
Rafael Nadal wins the duo's first Wimbledon meeting after the Serb retires from the match
The first time that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal locked horns was an iconic encounter in its own right.
Neither of the two had any Wimbledon titles to their name and were still new kids on the block in a sense. Sure, Nadal had triumphed at the French Open thrice, but that number pales in comparison to his current cabinet of 14.
There was a youthful dynamism to the match. Both men were playing with a sense of aggression, rushing to the net, changing direction at the first chance they were getting, hitting insane overheads.
The topsy-turvy encounter saw Djokovic take the first set 6-3, but Nadal came back strong to win the second 6-1.
The Spaniard then raced into a 4-1 lead when his opponent pulled the plug on the match. He later briefed the press about an infected blister on the little toe of his left foot and a persisting back problem.
The encounter may have ended in an unfortunate manner, but as one of the early encounters on the big stage, it succeeded in setting into motion the duo’s future rivalry not just at the grasscourt Slam, but elsewhere too.