Saturday, May 13th 2017, Madrid Masters Semi Final 1 marked half a century of clashes between tennis' great champions, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The previous head to head had been quiet even, with Djokovic slightly ahead at 26-23.
Here's an interesting compilation on all those 49 matches,in case you are interested.
It is a fact that goes unnoticed that the duo have played more matches together as compared to the more famous Federer-Nadal rivalry, which has seen 37 encounters. The varied playing styles of Nadal and Federer and their great friendship off the court are probably some of the reasons that 'Fedal' is more fabled than Nadal – Djokovic (gosh, we still don't have a moniker for it!).
The formbook
Coming into this game, the World No. 2 Serbian was on an unbeaten 7 match streak against Nadal, dating back to 2014, however what evened the scales was the fact that Novak had seen a poor start to 2017, and had very recently fired his whole coaching staff before this tournament desperately hoping for a change in fortunes for the season.
Nadal, on the other hand, has been in blazing hot form since the start of 2017, playing in 6 finals, including the epic Australian Open final against Federer (Fedal XXXV, as it was labeled by some) after a painful return from injury. The clay court season had been ominous, with Nadal winning his 10th title in Monte Carlo and Barcelona each. He looked set for his record breaking 5th crown in Madrid, but there stood Djokovic.
Matchup no. 50
Nadal carried his good form into this game, breaking Djokovic in the first game itself, much to the delight of the crowd. He broke again in the third game, and then served to go 4-0 up. The first set was done and dusted in 40 mins. Djokovic made many unforced errors and continued looking a patch of his dominant self who had been in red hot form for last couple of years.
The second set started with Nadal breaking in the second game, but the third game saw Djokovic trying to break the flow and come into his own. The returns were back, and so was the fighter comeback spirit typical of Djokovic. He broke Nadal back in the third game, and then served brilliantly to win his service game to nil. However, the brilliance came through only in patches, as Nadal clawed back and left his stamp on this encounter. With 1 hr 40 mins on the clock, and 5-4 up, Nadal served for the match, had two match points. But, Djokovic, as we have so often come to see in the past, magically rises his game and goes on to save both of them. However, today was not his day, as has been the story this season, and Nadal closed the game on his third match point.
How does Djokovic move on from here? Who would he appoint as his new coach? Can he overcome his mental demons or is the current slump a sign of something bigger? Many unanswered questions, but tennis would eagerly await the great Serb to come back into his own.
Here's an interesting compilation on all those 49 matches,in case you are interested.
The formbook
Coming into this game, the World No. 2 Serbian was on an unbeaten 7 match streak against Nadal, dating back to 2014, however what evened the scales was the fact that Novak had seen a poor start to 2017, and had very recently fired his whole coaching staff before this tournament desperately hoping for a change in fortunes for the season.
Nadal, on the other hand, has been in blazing hot form since the start of 2017, playing in 6 finals, including the epic Australian Open final against Federer (Fedal XXXV, as it was labeled by some) after a painful return from injury. The clay court season had been ominous, with Nadal winning his 10th title in Monte Carlo and Barcelona each. He looked set for his record breaking 5th crown in Madrid, but there stood Djokovic.
Matchup no. 50
Nadal carried his good form into this game, breaking Djokovic in the first game itself, much to the delight of the crowd. He broke again in the third game, and then served to go 4-0 up. The first set was done and dusted in 40 mins. Djokovic made many unforced errors and continued looking a patch of his dominant self who had been in red hot form for last couple of years.
The second set started with Nadal breaking in the second game, but the third game saw Djokovic trying to break the flow and come into his own. The returns were back, and so was the fighter comeback spirit typical of Djokovic. He broke Nadal back in the third game, and then served brilliantly to win his service game to nil. However, the brilliance came through only in patches, as Nadal clawed back and left his stamp on this encounter. With 1 hr 40 mins on the clock, and 5-4 up, Nadal served for the match, had two match points. But, Djokovic, as we have so often come to see in the past, magically rises his game and goes on to save both of them. However, today was not his day, as has been the story this season, and Nadal closed the game on his third match point.
How does Djokovic move on from here? Who would he appoint as his new coach? Can he overcome his mental demons or is the current slump a sign of something bigger? Many unanswered questions, but tennis would eagerly await the great Serb to come back into his own.
3 comments:
Being a novice in the game, I could have easily lost interest in the course of reading about two tennis legends..However, as I started reading this,not only did this article manage to draw sustained attention but could also provide with a feel of the game and this specific match..articulation and expression were marvelous.
Thanks :)
This is indeed a sports fan's blog, the idea from my end is to keep it very general and not too technical, explaining the context of each match, and try and make people follow and love the particular sport I write about.
Your comment makes me feel it goes in that direction. :)
Also, thank you for all the inspiration!
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