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Novak Djokovic was finally in this final, after 2 hours and 25 minutes of play. It was 4: 4 deep in the third set at the French Open final, when the Serb wildly waved his racket and asked the pitiful ball boy to move the playing team faster so he could serve the next serve quickly. The world number 1 wanted to use his mini-career, he wanted to finally put pressure on Rafael Nadal and keep playing in a hurry. And in fact. Djokovic managed to win the game by 5: 4. 16 minutes later it was all over.
0: 6, 2: 6, 5: 7. It’s an incredible result, from Djokovic’s point of view. But the same thing happens if you turn it around, from Nadal’s point of view. Because it is so clear. The best clay court player in the world underlined his exceptional position in the Bois de Boulogne at Roland Garros on this crisp Sunday afternoon.
100 – 13 – 20. The combination of numbers proves it: the triumph over Djokovic was Nadal’s 100th individual victory at the French Open (out of 102 matches in all!), It was his thirteenth title in Paris and his twentieth triumph in one of the big four big tournaments. The 34-year-old now has as many Grand Slam hits as Roger Federer.
Especially in the first two sets, Nadal delivered an almost flawless tennis match. The world number 2 chased after Djokovic at impressive speed across the entire width of the square. The Serbian kept three or four games, but Nadal made the most important points. Over and over he used his backhand, which was shot diagonally across the net, played short and long. The balls passed Djokovic in rows left and right. And when he had a break ball (only 5 in total compared to 18 for Nadal), the Spaniard also ran the most difficult balls.
“He played the perfect match”
Djokovic had never lost a set 0: 6 in a Grand Slam final. “He played the perfect match. Rafa was a much better player today,” said the 33-year-old later. And he didn’t even seem particularly depressed. His eternal rival was too dominant in the 56th meeting of the two. This shouldn’t change in the second sentence either. “I played a little bit better in the third set and found my rhythm,” continued Djokovic. He had some opportunities, but he did not take advantage of them. “And the game ended.”
At this French Open, Nadal not only rushed past this impressive final, which was tantamount to a statement. He did not give up a set in his seven matches and only had to go to the tie-break twice (against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals and against Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals). During the two weeks he seemed completely focused and completely unconcerned. The only thing he had to complain about was the game plan and the very late start of his game against Sinner. Sometimes because of the low temperatures. “The problem is the weather. It’s too cold to play tennis, isn’t it?” He asked once, a little annoyed, in the virtual press session. There was no more upset.
His own performance against Djokovic was almost embarrassing afterwards: “I played two and a half sets of excellent tennis. I really can’t say otherwise. If you win the sets against him so clearly, your own game must have been very good.” He entered the game with doubts. But already during practice on Saturday and the morning of the final warm-up, he felt a lot of confidence in himself. A feeling that shouldn’t leave it.
Federer congratulates Nadal
The fact that Nadal is now on par with Federer in terms of the number of Grand Slam titles won is good and worth fighting for, but he is not “obsessed” with this race. “I can’t be unhappy just because my neighbor has a bigger house,” he said after the final. “You have to live your own life.” Federer, who had to prematurely end this tennis season due to knee surgery, immediately congratulated Nadal on his 20th Grand Slam title on social media. “I have always had the utmost respect for my friend Rafa as a person and as a champion,” the 39-year-old wrote. As their biggest rival for many years, both of them would have become better players.
Following the “winner takes all” principle, Federer did not mention Djokovic, who has won 17 major titles so far. Serbs are also in the running for the most titles. He said that once here in Paris. There has never been so much rivalry in men’s tennis as between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. And the dominance just doesn’t stop. The trio won 14 of the last 15 Grand Slam tournaments. The so-called “next generation” players surrounding Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open, cannot yet come close to the big three, especially in the big tournaments.
Nadal’s perfect performance in the final of the French Open was also a sign for the future of tennis. It hasn’t started yet.
