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Perennial French Open champion Rafael Nadal overcame Novak Djokovic’s late resistance to a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win in the Roland Garros final, winning the Coupe des Mousquetaires in Paris for 13th time.
It will be a brave waiter who offers Djokovic a bagel for breakfast tomorrow morning, with a hungry Nadal serving just that in the first set against his angry opponent.
The statistics for the first set don’t paint a pretty picture for the Serb against an opponent who may come to regard those six games as his greatest masterpiece on the famous red clay.
Nadal recorded two aces and no double faults, while Djokovic’s service numbers were the exact opposite.
The Spanish hit 76% of his first serves, earning points in 67% of them. Against the best clay court of all, Djokovic’s first serve found the target only 42% of the time and when he did, he won a measly 27% of the points.
Djokovic enjoyed more success than his opponent in forays into the net, and his volleys gave him rare points on four of his six visits.
Nadal’s unforced error count in the first set was truly remarkable, with a whopping two, while his opponent, forced to play more aggressively than usual, recorded 13.
The 6-0 score was only the second time a bagel had been recorded in their previous 56 games and those who anticipated a tight affair due to the cool weather and heavy balls were left scratching their heads.
Born for clay 👀@Rafael Nadal #Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/zY9dj6295b
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 11, 2020
Djokovic had to save three break points in the first game in the second set to even get a game on the scoreboard, but his Spanish opponent quickly resumed normal service and moved into the second set with ease.
The third set was much more competitive, but a series of mistakes led Nadal to take a 3-2 lead with a service break.
However, Djokovic responded with a break of his own, much to the delight of a thin crowd that yearned for more entertainment.
The disaster hit the world number one with the set tied at 5-5 as a double fault left Perla de Manacor serving for the match, and he duly capitalized, hammering an ace to make more history in the City of Light. .
Nadal’s 13th title at Roland Garros came without concession of a set, an even more impressive feat considering that Djokovic had been undefeated in matches he had completed in 2020.
The victory gave the 34-year-old his 20th major, putting him on par with Roger Federer at the top of all-time Grand Slam titles, with Djokovic still stuck at 17.
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Nadal said later: “Congratulations to Novak for another great tournament. In Australia you killed me, today it was for me. That’s part of the game. We have played many times together: one day one wins, another the other.”
“A very tough year, but winning here means everything to me. I am not thinking of the 20th today to equal Roger, for me today is just a Roland Garros victory.
“I spent most of the most important moments of my tennis career here. I can only thank everyone who is here, the whole organization, the public, playing here is a true inspiration and the love story I have with this city and this tournament are unforgettable. “
Djokovic humbly said: “I don’t have much to say, but Rafa completely surpassed me.
“I felt good throughout the tournament. I thought I was in great shape. I certainly could have played better, especially in the first two sets. But he surprised me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing.” , level.
“He’s phenomenal. He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets.
“In the third set I managed to come back. In a way I found my rhythm on the court. I had my chance, I didn’t use it. He closed the game.”
“It’s just one of these days where you have to say ‘intro, and well done.’
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