Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal was the clear darling of the audience in the captivating quarterfinals of Roland Garros. It loudly appreciated each of his winning balls. The world number one, the Serb Novak Djokovic, then got nervous in the fourth set and, after a bad blow, angrily struck the net with a rocket. He experienced a huge roar of spectators, who joyfully celebrated after the victory of the Spaniard.
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Summary of the thrilling match: Djokovic angrily struck the net, experiencing a huge roar. | Video: Asociated Press
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In the grand slam they both competed for the eighteenth time, no other fights in the Open era. The Spaniard had a better start to the match, breaking the opponent’s service right at the beginning, repeating the same act a few tens of minutes later and winning the first set clearly 6: 2.
Nadal also owned the entrance to the second set. After two quick breaks, he took the lead 3: 0. After that, however, his excellent service stopped working and Djokovic came to life. The Serb took the Spaniard three times in the second set, almost an hour and a half long, and returned to the game after a 6: 4 triumph.
The mutually attractive tug-of-war of the two giants continued. Nadal won the third set 6: 2 after two breaks. Djokovic again, despite his frustration, when he angrily struck the net with a rocket, escaped to the lead at the beginning of the fourth set 3-0.
The two-time winner Roland Garros later had two sets in his lead 5: 3 to force the deciding set. However, he did not use them, the match reached a shortened game and Nadal developed five matchwords in it.
Although the militant Djokovic averted three more of them, Nadal did not let the victory escape and closed the duel after four hours and 12 minutes. Nadal eventually defeated Djokovic 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 2, 7: 6. Roland Garros is fifteenth in the semifinals.
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