Pablo Neruda - the famous Chilean Poet - said "You can cut all the flowers you want, but you cannot prevent spring from coming. And truly, after what was a dull and rainy start to the Roland Garros - the grounds where the only clay court grand slam, The French Open is played - the sun shined brightly on Finals Day. Spring had finally arrived. The flowers in the Roland Garros grounds were blooming in full glory. Nobody could be worried about such great conditions before a Final right?
Wrong.
One person, Novak Djokovic was perturbed. Warm conditions, on a clay court final, against Rafael Nadal, could mean only one thing - copious amounts of bounce. Nadal has played his best matches - including the whirlwind semifinal against Murray this year - on basking warm conditions. The hotter the weather is, the more bite he gets on his already inhumane top-spin, and the farther he drives his opponent into the baseline.
Nadal relishes doing this, and Djokovic correctly realized he was going to face a tough match. Well, "tough" maybe an understatement. Add to the favorable weather conditions the fact that Nadal has an incredible 65-1 win loss ratio here, the fact that Roland Garros is his "spiritual home", his "sanctum sanctorum" AND the fact that he had won this tournament a whopping 8 times already; you'd be kidding yourself if you’d believe that you could take Nadal down.
Djokovic fans - in response to Nadal's record - argued, that Djokovic had won all the 4 previous meetings against him, including the last one on clay. But, eventually everyone realized, that these "statistics" were mere unctuous encomiums. They served no purpose.
The first set was a typical sluggish start by Rafa. His backhands were weak and his forehands loose. Djokovic was in firm control right from the start and Nadal struggled to answer Djokovic's aggressive play. Djokovic won the set 6-3.
Nadal upped the ante in the second set, and broke early. However, Djokovic broke right back and it was a neck to neck contest for the rest of the set. Nadal was leading 6-5 when he finally broke Djokovic and prevented a tie breaker from being played. The close 7-5 score line in the second set made people anticipate another mouthwatering classic nail biting five setter.
Alas! It wasn't to be. Nadal took the momentum away from Djokovic and ran away with it. He won three consecutive games in the third set - including a break of Djokovic's serve. When Nadal was leading 4-2, Djokovic had a huge opportunity to break back. But, after a mammoth 11 minute game, Nadal narrowly held his serve. He led, 5-2. Djokovic was clearly upset and he scathingly smashed a racquet onto the red Parisian dirt.
Wrong.
One person, Novak Djokovic was perturbed. Warm conditions, on a clay court final, against Rafael Nadal, could mean only one thing - copious amounts of bounce. Nadal has played his best matches - including the whirlwind semifinal against Murray this year - on basking warm conditions. The hotter the weather is, the more bite he gets on his already inhumane top-spin, and the farther he drives his opponent into the baseline.
Nadal relishes doing this, and Djokovic correctly realized he was going to face a tough match. Well, "tough" maybe an understatement. Add to the favorable weather conditions the fact that Nadal has an incredible 65-1 win loss ratio here, the fact that Roland Garros is his "spiritual home", his "sanctum sanctorum" AND the fact that he had won this tournament a whopping 8 times already; you'd be kidding yourself if you’d believe that you could take Nadal down.
Djokovic fans - in response to Nadal's record - argued, that Djokovic had won all the 4 previous meetings against him, including the last one on clay. But, eventually everyone realized, that these "statistics" were mere unctuous encomiums. They served no purpose.
The first set was a typical sluggish start by Rafa. His backhands were weak and his forehands loose. Djokovic was in firm control right from the start and Nadal struggled to answer Djokovic's aggressive play. Djokovic won the set 6-3.
Nadal upped the ante in the second set, and broke early. However, Djokovic broke right back and it was a neck to neck contest for the rest of the set. Nadal was leading 6-5 when he finally broke Djokovic and prevented a tie breaker from being played. The close 7-5 score line in the second set made people anticipate another mouthwatering classic nail biting five setter.
Alas! It wasn't to be. Nadal took the momentum away from Djokovic and ran away with it. He won three consecutive games in the third set - including a break of Djokovic's serve. When Nadal was leading 4-2, Djokovic had a huge opportunity to break back. But, after a mammoth 11 minute game, Nadal narrowly held his serve. He led, 5-2. Djokovic was clearly upset and he scathingly smashed a racquet onto the red Parisian dirt.
The eighth game of the third set sealed the deal for Nadal, he was trailing 30-0 on Djokovic's serve, but somehow managed to break him - both literally and metaphorically. During the changeover, Djokovic looked exhausted, he nearly collapsed and puked. After an ice towel, electrolytes and a banana to replenish his potassium, Djokovic - like a broken warrior - stood back up to face his Goliath. Only to be whipped brutally, again.
In the fourth set, it was head to head until Nadal broke Djokovic in the sixth game. The score line read 4-2.There was no respite now. Nadal was smelling blood, he was only two points away from glory. But, Djokovic brought Nadal right back to reality. He broke Nadal the very next game. He also managed to hold serve in the game after that. The score read 4-4.
Nadal held his serve in an anxious game to inch ahead 5-4. In what could be - and indeed turned out to be - the final game, Djokovic pulled through a comfortable 30-0 lead. However, he let Nadal come right back to 30-30. Nadal won the next point to lead 30-40 and the very last point didn't require Nadal to touch his racquet to the ball. A double fault from Djokovic meant that Djokovic would have to wait one more year to win the only grand slam that had eluded him thus far.
Nadal had won the French Open, AGAIN. Indeed, just as Neruda said spring was inevitable, it will suffice to say that in the tennis world Nadal winning at Roland Garros is an inevitable phenomenon.
In conclusion, while The Spanish King may have abdicated his throne, the king of clay had no intentions of following his “real” kings precedent. He retained his iron grip (or should I say iron "bite") on his prized treasure - the Coupe de Mousquetaires once again!
In the fourth set, it was head to head until Nadal broke Djokovic in the sixth game. The score line read 4-2.There was no respite now. Nadal was smelling blood, he was only two points away from glory. But, Djokovic brought Nadal right back to reality. He broke Nadal the very next game. He also managed to hold serve in the game after that. The score read 4-4.
Nadal held his serve in an anxious game to inch ahead 5-4. In what could be - and indeed turned out to be - the final game, Djokovic pulled through a comfortable 30-0 lead. However, he let Nadal come right back to 30-30. Nadal won the next point to lead 30-40 and the very last point didn't require Nadal to touch his racquet to the ball. A double fault from Djokovic meant that Djokovic would have to wait one more year to win the only grand slam that had eluded him thus far.
Nadal had won the French Open, AGAIN. Indeed, just as Neruda said spring was inevitable, it will suffice to say that in the tennis world Nadal winning at Roland Garros is an inevitable phenomenon.
In conclusion, while The Spanish King may have abdicated his throne, the king of clay had no intentions of following his “real” kings precedent. He retained his iron grip (or should I say iron "bite") on his prized treasure - the Coupe de Mousquetaires once again!
Truly, Nadal deserved to be on Cloud 9. After all, he is the God of Clay now. And no other place on earth is more befitting to Gods than clouds ;)
-Tejas Mehta
-Tejas Mehta