"It was almost a reversal of psyches this time" - Steve Flink on Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic's clashes at Roland Garros in 2021 & 2022
The draw for the 2022 French Open raised some eyebrows in the tennis world as all the three favorites — Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz — were placed in the same half. Experts and fans were disappointed to learn that Nadal and Djokovic could face each other no later than in the quarterfinals.
Nevertheless, the 59th career meeting between the Spaniard and the Serb lived up to its hype as it became the most-watched Roland Garros match in Eurosport's history. Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) and avenged his semifinal loss to the World No. 1 in Paris last year.
While reflecting on the match on a recent podcast, sports journalist Steve Flink suggested that the body language and psyche of both players had flipped from their clash from last year, which Djokovic won.
"That was almost a reversal of psyches this time. Last year, Novak was really enjoying himself. There were times he was smiling and there was a positive energy to him. Rafa was fretting a bit. This time, I thought that Djokovic seemed kind of negative, irked by the crowd while Rafa was terrific," Flink said.
: Steve Flink on French Open 2022, Nadal's Title Run | Monday Match Analysis
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Flink believes the fans could have seen an even bigger battle had the match gone the distance.
"I had a feeling if we could have got to the fifth set, maybe both players would have really taken it up a notch and we could have had a spectacular battle. But it was not to be because Djokovic did not close it out when he had the chance," said Flink.
Standing clearly on 🔝
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After winning the first set, Nadal was ahead 3-0 in the second when Djokovic stepped up and won six of the next seven games to take the set. The third set was similar to the first, with Nadal leading by two sets to one. At 3-5 in the fourth set, Nadal saved two set points to force a tiebreak, which he won to clinch the match.
Rafael Nadal improves his Grand Slam head-to-head against Novak Djokovic
The 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was their 18th match in Major tournaments and Nadal improved his head-to-head against the Serb to 11-7.
The Spaniard has won eight of their 10 matches in Paris while maintaining a 2-1 lead at the US Open. Djokovic is the only player in the world to have beaten Nadal in all Grand Slam events. He leads the Spaniard 2-0 at the Australian Open and 2-1 at Wimbledon.