For the second time in my career, Novak Djokovic completed the task considered by many to be “the greatest challenge on earth”: defeating Rafael Nadal on the clay of Roland Garros. After a bad start, the world number 1 pulled out a spectacular performance in a spectacular duel. So special that the tournament organizers obtained authorization from the local authorities to break the curfew in force in Paris. That’s how the Serb, who found answers to the Spaniard’s weapons, won magnificent rallies, saved set point, and won a dramatic tie-break. 3/6, 6/3, 7/6(4) e 6/2 in 4h11min – triumph that earned him a vacancy in the final of the tournament.
Friday’s result was only Nadal’s third loss on clay in Paris. Thirteen-time champion of the event, the Spaniard had only been beaten before at Roland Garros by the Swedish Robin Soderling, in 2009, and by Djokovic himself, in 2015. The Serb now moves to the decision and will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who won his place in the fight for the trophy by making 6/3, 6/3, 4/6, 4/6 and 6/3 on the German Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal.
Another important consequence of this Friday’s victory is that Djokovic prevents Nadal from distancing himself in the dispute to become the greatest singles slam champion in history. Rafa has 20 trophies and draws with Roger Federer in the category. The Serbian is 18 and if he wins Sunday’s final he will be just one behind his rivals. Nole also kept the lead in the history of head-to-head confrontations against the Spaniard, scoring his 30th victory in 58 duels.
How did it happen
The first set looked like a repeat of last year’s final, when Nadal made 6/0. After saving two break points with great serves in the first game, the Spaniard was impeccable and broke Djokovic in the sequence, earning a point by arriving in a short and then a spectacular rally, defending two smashes and killing the point with the net. Nole also tried shorts that didn’t work, and Rafa shot up the score when number 1 made three mistakes and lost the serve again in the fourth game (4/0).
The Serb, however, reacted. First, he “flawed his tyre” by confirming his service in the sixth game. Afterwards, he saved two set points, took advantage of an unstable moment by Nadal and returned one of the breaks when the Spaniard made a double foul on a break point. Nole still saved another set point with his serve before confirming and making it 3/5, and escaped three more set points in the ninth game, but Rafa finally closed the end with a great serve and a rival error: 6/3.
If it wasn’t possible to save the first set, Djokovic’s good moment continued in the second, when he pressured Rafa with great returns and got the first break thanks to a wrong forehand from the Spaniard. The Spaniard, however, reacted quickly, returning the break with a forehand in the parallel after three errors from the number 1. Who made the difference in the partial, however, was Djokovic with his returns. The Serb began to put much more pressure on the Spaniard’s services and came to another break in the sixth game. Nole was also brilliant on break points. Nole saved two of them and won a 13-minute seventh game and later saved two more break points in the ninth, before closing the end at 6/3 and drawing the game.
Djokovic managed to limit Rafa’s offensive ability by almost always looking for the Spaniard’s backhand, but even that didn’t guarantee the Serb free points. Early in the third set, Nadal saved two break points to keep the score evenly. The pressure, however, continued, and the Spaniard faced more break points in the fifth game. He saved himself from two with a short and an ace, but lost the game by missing a short in the third chance of #1.
The moment was for the Serb, but against Nadal at Roland Garros, there are no guarantees. The Spaniard reacted immediately, breaking back into an eight-minute game with spectacular points (see below). The confrontation came at a time of fall for both, and Rafa lost his service with repeated mistakes in the sequence. Djokovic also faced a break point, but saved himself with a winning right and opened 5/3. Nole served 30/0 and was two points from the set, but Nadal made another response, matching backhand and forehand winners to equalize the game. Two Serbian errors later, the score was evened again: 5/5.
The drama continued with spectacular points and two more break points that Nadal saved with incredible winning balls (a backcourt smash and a forehand parallel) before confirming and making 6/5. The pressure shifted, and shortly afterwards it was Djokovic who faced a set point. With courage, the Serb saved himself with a perfect short cut and forced the tie-break. The tiebreaker game started with a double foul by Nadal, who would still miss an easy volley when he served in 3/4. Number 1 took advantage and closed on 7/6(4).
