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Spain’s Rafael Nadal will start his 13th French Open title on Sunday (3pm) in Paris, Serbian Novak Djokovic his second. Nadal, 34, defeated Diego Schwartzman (ARG-12) 6: 3.6: 3.7: 6 (0) in the semifinals of the Grand Slam Tennis tournament on Saturday and has yet to drop a set. The 33-year-old Djokovic, for his part, had to give up three rounds in six matches and won against Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE-5) with 6: 2.6: 2.5: 7.4: 6.6: 1.
After the first two sets lost, Tsitsipas made the duel with the world’s No. 1 seed really exciting. After ten break points conceded, he broke Djokovic’s serve at the right time, defended himself for one match point and won his set. At the start of the fourth round, the 22-year-old followed with a 2-0 lead. The “Djoker” counterattacked immediately, but the Hellenes managed to break again to 6: 4. But Djokovic saved it and seemed enormously strong in the set of decisions. At 6-1 he did not give the Greek a chance and left the court as the winner after 3:54 hours. Jürgen Melzer remains the only player to still beat Djokovic after a 2-0 set at a disadvantage (Paris 2010).
Djokovic is undefeated this year but now faces his greatest test of endurance. While he won the Roland Garros title in 2016, Nadal now has 99 wins and just two losses at this event. Since 2005, the Iberian has only won the title in 2009, 2015 and 2016, with twelve wins. Once in the final, Nadal never lost. This is not the only reason why the world number two is again the favorite. Djokovic lost in three Paris finals: Nadal in 2012 and 2014 and Stan Wawrinka in 2015.
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“To be here in the final once again is incredible. This is a very nice moment “Nadal said in his short speech in French on the Philippe Chatrier court, which was only sparsely filled due to crown requirements. With the victory in 3:09 hours against the quarter-final defender Dominic Thiem, who was only 1.70 meters tall, the Mallorcan left-hander cemented his specialty in the red ash of the Bois de Boulogne.
With his 20th Grand Slam win, Nadal would tie with the Swiss Roger Federer, who has now finished his season. “I knew today would be difficult”Nadal said, “But I’m glad I did it.” For Djokovic it would be the 18th big win, allowing him to catch up with Nadal.
Schwartzman initially looked a bit tired after his 5:08 hour five-set match against Thiem. The first game of the first set lasted 14 minutes before Nadal served. He managed the break until 2-0, but both lost service before Nadal laid the foundations of success in the 67th minute with a 6-3. The fact that Nadal had to accept the only loss to Schwartzman at the Rome Masters did not seem to affect him.
“Djoker” as an outsider
Novak Djokovic sees himself as an outsider in the final against the “King” of Paris. “He is the favorite here. This is your living room. With all the titles he has won here. But in 2015 I beat him here in the quarterfinals “the Serbian remembered.
The semifinals cost substance, Djokovic admitted. “I hope I have a good rest because I need my best tennis. It is perhaps the greatest challenge in our sport to play against Nadal in Paris. I’m looking forward to it, happy to be there and motivated to win. “
Featured Image: Getty
