Sixteen years later they were there again. nadal and Djokovic, the heroes of the greatest rivalry in tennis history. Roland Garros, who first called them in 2006, brought them back together in 2022. At this level, it cannot be ruled out that they will continue to see each other in 2038. The Spaniards and Serbs offered the Fifteenth War (4:16h) to the file in the video library. The last one, 59. Nadal got the score 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7(4). A game that starts in May and ends in June. Nightly stuff. Judge for yourself.
Although Nadal’s first hour of the game was flawless, the ‘crossing hours’ conditions theoretically benefited Djokovic. What I saw today was a recital. He fought for ten minutes in the first game, enough—what less!—to break Novak’s serve. This beginning was a symptom of what would be witnessed in Philippe Chatrier.. Balearic then needed three timeout options to place 1-5, less than the only option he had in fifth place. As if it was easy Nadal closed the lead 2-6. The key was 15-40, save with 1-2 in the light from Manacor.
A third of the work was done and Rafa followed up with the plan at the start of the second set. He forcibly added mistakes and ran like a right, hard court. After seven timeouts, Nadal managed to take the lead again. He immediately confirmed this with an empty game – they were scarce – and broke again, taking his only chance for 0-3 to shine in the light. He couldn’t find a way to remove Djokovic’s head, but when he did, he came up with everything.
Novak Rising
At that moment, the tables were changed. Despite his backhand’s perfect shot, he started sending from the right from Belgrade. He had never lost a set in the tournament and did not want to give up two sets at the same time. He broke first and repeated over and over in a game over 20 minutes. This was the hardest moment for Nadal, who managed to stop the bleeding for a moment but lost again in the tenth game, and ‘Nole’ won the set.
Rafa’s case is inexplicable.
Any mortal could bow their heads, but Rafael Nadal Parera has a concrete mind. He forgot everything that happened and left Djokovic’s first serve empty. He registered a timeout option on the fourth and broke again on the fifth. This time the man from Manacorí kept the lease and at least secured the fifth set.
For now, a more ‘earthly’ partial came the fourth. After three hours of deliberation, it was impossible to maintain this finesse and precision in the strokes, although the level remained excellent. It is a known fact that it is Nadal and Djokovic. He won the first timeout ball from Belgrade, but with a 5-2 lead, Nadal picked him up. He missed two sets at 5-3 and saw how Rafa flipped it until it ended in a draw. There, more than expected, the Balearic received a choice of five matches. It had a cost, but it closed in the fourth. Little does he know that the only reward is some halves for now.