Rafael Nadal was out-of-position for much of the four-hour 11-minute semifinal encounter. He was scrambling in his backyard. And, try as he did, imparting more spin, moving his opponent around, the 13-time champion couldn’t push Novak Djokovic back to that precise crook where he was stranded on Friday night.
Djokovic triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in their 58th career meeting. Nadal’s third loss in 108 matches at the French Open. In the first 30-minutes of the 61-minute opening set, Nadal took a 5-0 lead, in the next 31 the 35-year-old may have wrapped up the set, but he had let the momentum slip.
While Nadal pushed, the world No.1 stretched his elastic reach. The Spaniard retreated, the Serb shrunk the court. Nadal battled the chilly conditions, yearning for sun and bounce, and Djokovic stepped in and hastened the pace, ensuring everything was retur ned quicker than it had come.
Djokovic triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in their 58th career meeting. Nadal’s third loss in 108 matches at the French Open. In the first 30-minutes of the 61-minute opening set, Nadal took a 5-0 lead, in the next 31 the 35-year-old may have wrapped up the set, but he had let the momentum slip.
While Nadal pushed, the world No.1 stretched his elastic reach. The Spaniard retreated, the Serb shrunk the court. Nadal battled the chilly conditions, yearning for sun and bounce, and Djokovic stepped in and hastened the pace, ensuring everything was retur ned quicker than it had come.
“We had been playing in war m (weather) with high bounces. During the night, the situation goes a little bit the other way,” Nadal said.
“So, bounce is a little bit less, ball gets less topspin. That’s more favourable for him. I tried to give my best. Probably was not my best day out there.”
“The position on the shots haven’t been that effective tonight,” said Nadal, who started the third set tie-break with a double fault. “Against a player like him, who takes the ball early, if you are not able to take him out of his position, then is very difficult.” The longer the match went, the more physical the tussle became. The world No.1 grew in confidence.
Nadal, whose unforced error-count totalled 55, said despite the success he has enjoyed at Roland Garros, he’s aware that it wasn’t possible to win the title 15-16 times. But he didn’t rule out a 14th, promising to be back next year, even if only to regain court position.
“Next year I will come again, God willing, with the belief and with the necessary work to be able to give myself another chance,” he told media in Paris. “I am sad to have lost in the most important tournament of the year for me, but life goes on, it is nothing more than a defeat on a tennis court.”
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