Nadal outlasts Djokovic to reach 8th French Open final
On a bright and sunny Summer day in Paris, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played out yet another classic five set marathon for a coveted place in the finals of the 112th French Open. The strains of these titanic warriors reverberated not just inside Stade Roland Garros but in the expanses of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The match echoed the events of another brutal duel between the two gladiators – remember the ultra-marathon in Melbourne 2012? Djokovic hung by his little finger to a fraying thread to force the fifth set before succumbing to the King of Clay.
Eventually, it took Nadal four hours and 37 minutes of mostly breath-taking power tennis to protect his throne from the irreverent attack of the committed invader from Serbia. The effort was nearly epic as the King held on for dear life in the final set before completing his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 victory over Djokovic. The drenched Nadal was soaked in the joy of his 20th victory over Djokovic in their 35th meeting, even as the Stadium erupted in chants of delirious men and women wooed by the galactic brilliance of their emperor.
In a gist – Nadal set a blistering pace to set the tone with a commanding performance in the first set. Djokovic clinched the second set after recovering from a break down. Nadal returned to head of the table by sweeping his opponent off the court in a lopsided third set. Djokovic responded as only he can, fighting back twice from a break down in the fourth set. He stopped Nadal when he was serving for the match at 6-5 to force a tie-breaker.
Nadal lost an early break in the decider, but never gave up hope. He broke back Djokovic to tame his soaring spirits before pounding him to submission in the sixteenth game of the final set. Nadal outdid Djokovic in both winners and errors – the Spaniard has 61 winners, seven more than his opponent. At 75 unforced errors Djokovic gifted a whopping 31 more points than Nadal – that could account for more than a set in an average match.
It was probably the Serbian’s best match against Nadal on clay, but he was let down by his ground strokes at critical junctures of this gratifying contest to lose by the narrowest of margins.
Nadal owns Court Philippe Chatrier and the first set just served to emphasise the fact to his formidable opponent. Djokovic struggled through the early parts of the second set, but held on grimly to stay in touch with Nadal at 2-2. The break seemed inevitable though and Nadal sealed it in the fifth game. Djokovic conjured three straight errors from 30-0 in that game and Nadal grabbed his opportunity dispatching a backhand down the line winner off a poorly struck drop shot.
Down a set and a break, Djokovic was passing through a dark alley. Nadal held a torch for him when he made a troika of errors in the next game. The world No. 1 leapt at the opportunity, but Nadal fought back to force deuce. Eventually though, Djokovic broke back at the third attempt to stay even at 3-3. After Djokovic held the seventh game with an ace, Nadal reached game point at 40-30 in the eighth game.