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PARIS (Reuters) – Spain’s Rafael Nadal inflicted one of the most humiliating defeats on great rival Novak Djokovic in the final of the French Open on Sunday, defeating the world number one 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to lift a record for 20th Grand. Slam men’s singles title.
Tennis fans would have been salivating at the prospect of another epic clash in one of the sport’s biggest rivalries, but it turned out to be one of the most one-sided Grand Slam finals in the Open era under the closed roof of the Philippe Chatrier court.
The roof, which made its debut at this year’s rescheduled Grand Slam, closed just before the start of the game, sending fans and social media experts into a frenzy over which player would benefit from the indoor conditions.
Most thought it would favor the Serb’s game against Nadal, 34, who was seeking a 13th title on the red clay courts of Roland Garros.
But Nadal adapted brilliantly, as he has for the entire fortnight, to the new ball brand and much colder and wetter conditions at this year’s event that began in late September instead of his usual May-to-time schedule. June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Of course we were expecting a great final and this is not going to turn into a grand final. I am more surprised, I did not think Rafa was going to play so well,” said the Eurosport tennis expert and seven times Grand champion said. Slam, Mats Wilander.
The stakes were high for both players in their ninth meeting in a Grand Slam final (they were tied 4-4 previously) with the added incentive of lifting another major battle trophy to be considered the men’s “best of all time.”
Nadal has now tied Roger Federer’s streak of 20 majors with Djokovic, the last active player to beat the Spaniard at Roland Garros, three away from the drift.
“Winning here means everything. I do not think today about the 20th and equaling Roger in this great number, today is just a Roland Garros victory and that means everything to me,” said the world number two.
“This love story I have with this city and this field is unforgettable.”
The 39-year-old Federer, who has been recovering from knee surgery this year, congratulated his friend.
“As my biggest rival for many years, I think we have pushed each other to become better players,” Federer posted on Twitter, along with a photo of him with Nadal.
“It is therefore a real honor for me to congratulate him on his 20th Grand Slam victory.”
DOOR CLOSED
Before the game, Djokovic had said that Roland Garros was Nadal’s home and the Spaniard never once left the door ajar for the Serb to return to the game.
The 33-year-old Djokovic, who had won five Grand Slam finals in a row since losing to Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 US Open, still leads Nadal 29-27 in his career matches, but the scar from Sunday’s loss will be deep.
Drop shots on the slow clay courts served Djokovic well in earlier rounds and he used many of them in his first game on Sunday, but Nadal got most of them right, weakening the Serb’s weapon and game plan.
Djokovic struggled with his first serve and was unable to get to a Plan B as Nadal continued to be the aggressor while making just two unforced errors in the first set to give his opponent a rare bagel in the first set.
Nadal displayed exemplary athleticism and court coverage to bring his racket to Djokovic’s crunchy groundstrokes as the puzzled Serbian watched, quickly out of ideas on how to score important points.
In the second set there was no respite in the intensity of Nadal, who continued to throw deep returns to keep his opponent pinned to the rear of the baseline.
Djokovic stepped onto the board early in the second set after managing to save three break points, but Nadal maintained his iron grip by breaking the Serbian’s next two service games to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In a high-quality third set, Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve for the first time 3-3, but lost serve on a double fault in the 11th game before the left-hander claimed his 100th victory at Roland Garros with an ace. .
“Today you showed why you are the king of clay. Today was a difficult game, today I was beaten by a better player,” said Djokovic after losing his third final to Nadal at Roland Garros.
“He surprised me with the way he was playing, the quality of the tennis he was producing, the level. He’s phenomenal. He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; edited by Christian Radnedge and Ed Osmond)
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