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Spaniard Rafael Nadal has inflicted one of the most humiliating defeats on his great rival Novak Djokovic in the French Open final, thrashing the world No.1 6-0 6-2 7-5 to lift a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam men’s singles title.
Tennis fans would have been salivating at the prospect of another epic clash in one of the sport’s greatest rivalries but it proved to be one of the most one-sided grand slam finals in the Open era under the closed roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.
The roof, which made its debut at this year’s rescheduled Grand Slam, was closed just before the start of play, sending fans and pundits on social media into a frenzy on which player would benefit from the indoor conditions.
Most thought it would favour the Serbian’s game against the 34-year-old Nadal, who was bidding for a 13th title on the red clay courts at Roland Garros.
Instead, Nadal adapted brilliantly as he has done all fortnight to the new brand of balls and the much colder and wet conditions at this year’s event which started in late September rather than its usual May-June slot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stakes were high for both players in their ninth meeting in a Grand Slam final – they were tied 4-4 previously – with the added incentive of lifting another major trophy in the battle to be considered the men’s GOAT – the “Greatest Of All Time”.
Nadal has now tied Roger Federer’s haul of 20 majors with Djokovic, the last active player to beat the Spaniard at Roland Garros, three adrift.
“To win here means everything. I don’t think today about the 20th and equal Roger on this great number, today is just a Roland Garros victory and that means everything to me,” the world No.2 said.
“This love story I have with this city and this court is unforgettable.”
Djokovic, 33, who had won five Grand Slam finals in a row since losing to Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 Australian Open, still leads Nadal 29-27 in career meetings but the scar of Sunday’s defeat will run deep.
The drop shots on the slow clay courts served Djokovic well in earlier rounds and he used plenty of them in his opening game on Sunday but Nadal ran most of them down, blunting the Serbian’s weapon and game plan.
Nadal made just two unforced errors in the opening set to hand his opponent a rare ‘bagel’. In the second set there was no letup in intensity either as he continued to hit deep returns to keep his opponent pinned to the back of the baseline.
Djokovic got on the board at the start of the second set after managing to save three breakpoints but Nadal maintained his iron grip by breaking the Serbian’s next two service games to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Djokovic, who was looking to win his 18th Grand Slam title, made a fight of it in the third set, breaking back for 3-3, only to drop serve on a double fault in the 11th game before Nadal went on to bag his 100th victory at Roland Garros with an ace.
“Today you showed why you are the king of clay.” said a gracious Djokovic. “Today was a tough match, I was outplayed by a better player.”
“He was not missing at all and getting every ball back, just playing tactically great. I felt well throughout the entire tournament. I thought I was in a great form.
“Certainly, I could have played better, especially in the first two sets. But he did surprise me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing,” Djokovic added.
“He’s phenomenal. He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets.”
Incredibly, the Spaniard made only 14 unforced errors and while Djokovic made 52, many were the result of desperation as he tried to fathom a way to stop the onslaught.
“No holding him back it seems like. It’s amazing. I mean, I admire all his achievements, I mean, especially the one here,” Djokovic said of Nadal’s record at Roland Garros which now reads 100-2 in terms of wins and losses.
Djokovic had a 37-1 record this year going into the final, his only “loss” being his default at the U.S. Open when he struck a line judge with a ball in the fourth round.
Rarely does the sharp-minded Djokovic make a mistake with his strategy, but he said his ploy to use the drop shot liberally against Nadal, as he had all tournament, had backfired.
Nadal read most of them and Djokovic’s success rate with the shot was mediocre at best.
“It didn’t work great today, let’s say,” Djokovic, who has now lost all three French Open finals in which he faced Nadal, said. “He was winning a lot of those drop shot points. He was playing all the right shots today.”
© AAP
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