In Paris, Nadal was successful in derailing Djokovic’s pursuit for a second straight win. He also ensured that Djokovic would retain in second place in the list of grand slam victories with 20.
Rafael Nadal maintains that he is unable to tell for certain which of his matches at Roland Garros would be his very last at a venue that he loves and at which he is revered by the fans.
Nadal will have more opportunities to compete in the future if he continues to win matches and maintains a level of play like to the one he displayed during his historic quarterfinal triumph over his long-time adversary Novak Djokovic.
Nadal defeated the top-seeded and defending champion of the French Open, Novak Djokovic, in four sets by scores of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, and 7-6 (4) to move one step closer to winning his 14th championship at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament and what would be a 22nd major trophy overall, adding to the records that he already owns. Djokovic was the top-seeded player in the match, and he was the defending champion of
“There is only one way to win against Novak, and that is to play at your best from the very first point to the very last one,” Nadal remarked. “For me, it has turned out to be one of those magical evenings.”
For those who were privileged enough to be there as well as others who were just able to observe from a distance.
The fight started a little after 9 o’clock on Tuesday evening and didn’t end until after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, which is more than four hours later.
There was not a single game, point, stroke, or even stride that was played with even the slightest air of nonchalance. Both of the guys did their very best. There was no smooth sailing.
Even though it was labelled as a semifinal on the bracket, everything about it gave the impression that it was the championship game: the level of play, the level of effort, the anticipation that came before it, and the mood that surrounded it.
The one thing that was lacking from the equation was that the victor did not get a prize.
Despite having a 3-0 lead in the second set, Nadal was ultimately defeated by Djokovic, who went on to win the match.
Even though Djokovic served for it at 5-3 and even came within one point of forcing a fifth set on two separate occasions, his 3-0 lead in the fourth set was of little use to him. Nadal was able to preserve those set points and break there, and then he stormed away with the last tiebreaker, gaining a lead of 6-1 and never losing concentration despite the fact that his first three match chances were unsuccessful.
“Always playing against him is a fantastic challenge,” Nadal added. “Today was yet another chapter in all of the history that we have shared together.
They have faced each other 59 times during their careers, which is more than any other pair of men has done throughout the Open period of competition. While doing so, Nadal improved his record against his adversary at Roland Garros to 8-2 and cut Djokovic’s advantage in the series down to 30-29.
At this point in his career, Nadal has a record of 110-3 at the venue. Two of the defeats occurred at the hands of Djokovic, including one in the quarterfinals of the tournament held the previous year.
This year, Nadal ensured that Djokovic would continue to behind him in the count of Grand Slam victories, which now stands at 20.
On Friday, Nadal will celebrate his 36th birthday while competing in the semifinals against Alexander Zverev, who is seeded third.
During the on-court interview, the question of Nadal’s future was brought up, and he grinned when it was brought up.
Nadal added, “By the way, we’ll see each other in two days.” “There is nothing further I can add to it,” the speaker said.
