Rolland Garros/ The French Open
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Rafael Nadal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5756335239
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Novak Djokovic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5763317762
It really did feel anti-climatic.
I work overnights, so was not watching most of the match. But I tuned in and saw that Djokovic had won the first two sets, and was dominating Nadal in the third set.
Nadal had a look that I had not really seen before. He looked to the stands, or to the sky, although I doubt that this was what he was really seeing. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, perhaps recognizing that this was the end of an era of greatness, and perhaps marked his decline in a more convincing and pronounced way than anything that had come before - including all of those injuries that sidelined him for extended periods of time.
If it were not Nadal, the King of Clay Court on the other side of the net from the world's number one ranked player, you might think that Djokovic was simply playing another also ran, and dispatching him with ease.
But this was not the way that you expect the best clay court player in history to go out.
Djokovic raced out to an amazing start, taking an early 4-0 lead in the first set, and looking like he might cruise to a surprisingly easy victory.
However, if there was any point yesterday that Nadal responded like a champion, it was in rebounding from such a poor start to shoot right back and win the next four games to even up that set. It was the only point in the match in which Djokovic appeared decidedly uncomfortable.
They then held on serve for the next three games, with Nadal serving at 5-6 to stay in the set, when Djokovic finally scored the break to clinch the first set and solidly grab the early momentum in the match.
He won the second set much more comfortably at 6-3, and by the time he was up two sets, you just kind of knew that something was different about Nadal's French Open performance this year. He had never fallen behind by two sets in any previous match at Rolland Garros before.
The final set lacked drama. Nadal fought hard, despite being so far behind, but it was not enough on this day. Djokovic had assumed control, and was not to be denied this time around. Nadal had eliminated Djokovic six times previously at Rolland Garros, so this meant everything to him. Eventually, he was going to have to get past the King of the Clay Court in order to capture the French Open title and secure his legacy and even tennis immortality by winning the one Grand Slam championship that has eluded him to this point.
No, he is not there yet. But yesterday, he took a big step in that direction. He will meet Murray in the semifinal, and would still yet have one more match to win on Sunday if he is to finally hoist the Coupe des Mousquetaires over his head in ultimate triumph in Paris. If he does that, he will notch his rightful place as one of the "Big Three" of this era, along with his rivals Federer and Nadal, as one of the few men in history who can claim the career Grand Slam. Only seven men have ever done it, including the two already mentioned, as well as Agassi back in 1999 (also completed when he won the French Open in 1999, and four other men going back quite a few years. Djokovic can complete this distinction and join these elite ranks with a win on Sunday.
For now, he at least managed to get Nadal's boot off of his neck in the one tournament where he had never managed to defeat Nadal before. He already was one of the few men to have beaten the clay court specialist on the clay courts before, which is a rare achievement in itself. Few men can claim that much. One of the few is Federer, who of course won the 2009 French Open, and is the only man other than Nadal to have won at Rolland Garros since 2004. That will change this year, and Djokovic has put himself in position to finally have his breakthrough. By beating Nadal yesterday, Djokovic already achieved something that Federer never succeeded in doing: beating Nadal in Paris, which means that, arguably, should he indeed win it all here, his victory at the French Open would be perhaps more impressive than what Federer managed to do in 2009, precisely because Federer did not play Nadal. Despite having won the French Open, Federer never beat Nadal at Rolland Garros.
Even more impressive, Djokovic is now the only man to have defeated Nadal in all four Grand Slam tournaments! Nobody has ever done that before. And despite how impressive it is to beat Nadal on any surface, especially when it comes in a Grand Slam tournament, this one was undeniably the crown jewel of victories over Nadal for Djokovic. This is the type of win that could define his career, although he now really needs to finish the job and win the title this year.
Now, what of the vanquished legend? He has won nine times before at Rolland Garros, and pretty much owned this tournament until now (remember he was injured when he lost in 2009 to Soderling). Is he really getting too old, with his age showing? Or can he return back to prime form next year, where he maybe can reclaim his former dominance at the French Open?
Time will tell, although Nadal said that he saw this coming, and at least in words, did not appear overly discouraged about this loss, which dropped his all-time record here at the French Open to a still astonishing and incredibly impressive 70-2. Here is what he had to say about it:
"I lost in 2009 and it's not the end. I lost in 2015 and it's not the end. I hope to be back here next year with another chance. There is only one thing sure: I'm going to work harder even than before to come back stronger."
Those are the words of a champion, and I believe him. This is far from the last that we have heard of Nadal.
Here are the articles that helped me in writing this blog entry, including the quote used above:
I had it coming, Nadal admits after French Open defeat Reuters By Julien Pretot, June 3, 2015:
Sense of anti-climax as Nadal's reign ended by Djokovic Reuters By Martyn Herman, June 3, 2015:
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