CLIMBING EVEREST - Djokovic Beats Nadal at Roland Garros for the 2nd Time

Astonishing!! Incredible tennis! The level was through the roof in Novak Djokovic’s 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal in the 2021 semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Stats Don’t Do This Justice

Apparently Nadal hit 55 errors, but I think that stat is deceptive. When you have to hit 8 or 10 shots in every rally (and often more) then more errors will be tallied simply because the total number of strokes each player is making is so much higher. The actual percentage of errors/strokes was low, and the quality of the shots was forcing. 

Nadal started in incredible form. Djokovic came out playing amazingly, and Nadal's opening service game lasted eight minutes and Djokovic had a number of break points. But Nadal held on and raced out to a 5-0 lead playing absolutely ruthless, dominating, low-error tennis. It was shocking because Djokovic was playing well. This was not a repeat of the opening 6-0 set in last year’s final when Djokovic was not playing well. 

Djokovic finally "adjusted to Nadal's ball," as he put it, and then he started to really push Nadal. Nole did not give up court position, and hit on the rise, negating so much of Nadal's strategy to keep his opponents deep with massive topspin. He clawed back three games before Nadal won the set, but the match was starting to turn. 

We’ve got a match

There was high drama in the second set, Djokovic had an early lead and lost it, but then broke back again and eventually closed it out. The first two sets took two hours, even though the score in each was 6-3. The epic nature of the points they were playing, the length, depth, penetration, and angles were incredible, and the score line was deceptive. 

The third set was one for the ages. British commentators Catherine Whittaker and David Law have already called it the best set of tennis ever played. After trading early breaks, Djokovic finally consolidated a break and served for the set at 5-4. But Nadal played some sublime points, broke and held and had a set point during Novak's serving game at 5-6. But Novak held on. 

The tiebreak started ominously for Nadal with a double fault, but he got back the mini-break and they switched sides at 3-3 in the tiebreak. But the match turned on an incredible scrambling point with both players making astonishing shots and gets, when Nadal missed an easy putaway at the net long to fall behind 5-3. Then Djokovic ran out the tiebreak 7-4. 

I don't know if either player could have come back from losing the epic one-and-a-half hour third set. Djokovic put his foot on the gas and Nadal faded as Djokovic took the final frame 6-2. 

Incredible drama. Incredible effort from Djokovic. 

It felt like most points had sure winners in them - shots that would have been winners against any other opponent... yet the balls just kept coming back from both players. It was Schwartzman, I believe, who tweeted something like, this isn't the same game the rest of us are playing. 

So here we have two legends, ages 34 and 35, playing some of the highest level tennis ever played. And yet somehow no one is talking about their age.  The oldest Open Era winner of the men’s singles was Andres Gimeno at age 34.  When Federer was this age everyone was talking about how he was pushing the boundaries.  And now these two superstars make age look like nothing.  “Age just paper,” in the words of Li Na. 

Who Could Touch This Level?

Both players were at their peaks in that third set. It was an absolute treat to watch. But I do wonder how anyone else can compete with that. Will this demoralize the field?  Chances are Djokovic will not be able to bring that level against Tsitsipas in the final. It was just so high, so amazing, so rare... and it took the challenge of Nadal at Roland Garros to call it out of him. It was, as he said, "the Everest" of tennis - to beat Nadal at Roland Garros.  And what does that say about Nadal – that he is Everest?  The greatest?

The whole spectacle was candy for fans, so many of the points were highlight-reel worthy. I think it may be the finest clay court tennis ever-played, and certainly one of the best sets I've ever seen.

Charles Friesen contributes to The Slice from Vancouver, Canada