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Thanks to his sensational victory at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal is tied with Roger Federer for Grand Slam titles. Djokovic didn’t stand a chance.
With this ace, Nadal ensures victory
With an ace, Rafael Nadal secures his 13th title in his 13th final in Paris and ties Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam wins. Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. (Video: SRF)
What an incredible show of force from the king of clay courts! With his 100th individual victory in Paris, Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the 13th time. The 34-year-old Spaniard won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in an incredible final on Sunday against world number one Novak Djokovic.
The final of the superlatives met all the expectations of the first rally, of course not in terms of the final result. What the final two protagonists presented in the first half hour was a show on clay par excellence. The first game lasted six minutes, then Nadal took his opponent’s first serve. After 41 minutes it was 5-0 for Nadal, although Djokovic didn’t even play badly. But the performance of the Mallorcan southpaw was described as “phenomenal”, an understatement. For example, Nadal used the prepared ball to make it 6-0 after 45 minutes under the roof that was closed by the rain.
A historic duel between two tennis giants
In the seemingly endless history of their duels, which began in the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2006 and saw their 56th edition on Sunday afternoon, it was only the second time that one of the two rivals won a set 6-0. against the other. In 2019 Nadal achieved this in the final in Rome with his 6-0, 4: 6, 6: 1.
There has been no other match in the history of professional tennis as often as the comparison between Djokovic and Nadal. This year it meant: number one against number two, best of the year against the regent of Roland Garros, the 17-time Grand Slam champion against the 19-time major winner. At the start of the second round, the Serbian finally made his first point.
Nadal’s final record remains flawless
Before the summit, Djokovic called the “greatest challenge in sport” beating Nadal at the French Open. His record before the final is truly terrifying: Nadal won the French Open twelve times and won 99 matches here. He appeared with this self-confidence and this self-assurance.
To make it 2-1, Nadal made the first break in the second round, just kept going and made Djokovic look almost pitiful in the middle. The first round lasted 48 minutes, the second round 47 minutes and the score was 6-0, 6-2. Nadal disappeared into the locker room for a brief moment, but it didn’t affect his concentration at first.
Nadal’s beautiful stop ball in the final of the French Open
Nadal unpacks his best tennis in the French Open final against Djokovic, including this stop ball in the third set. (Video: SRF)
Djokovic’s impressive series comes to an end
Nadal had flown the previous tournament without losing a set, Djokovic gave up a set in the quarterfinals and had to go the full distance in the semifinals against Greek Stefanos Tsitispas. However, his annual record before Paris was as impressive as his opponent’s French Open statistics. Djokovic had won every game he played until the end of this season, which was long interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the ATP Cup, the Australian Open in Dubai, the Cincinnati Masters and the Rome Masters, Djokovic has not lost a single time. Only at the US Open was he sent off in the round of 16 because he threw a ball and hit a linesman and was disqualified. In the third set, Djokovic had to accept another service loss to make it 2: 3, but this time he countered with his first break to 3: 3. With rowing arm movements, he cheered on the audience (and himself) and again he offered resistance.
He kept the set open until 5: 5, but then a double error gave Nadal the break to 6: 5. Against this Nadal that day, Djokovic’s performance boost was no longer enough. (dpa)
That’s all for today. Rafael Nadal triumphs at Roland Garros for the 13th time and takes his 20th Grand Slam title.
Thanks for reading on and I wish you a pleasant evening.
Match!
The game is over! Nadal wins the 2020 French Open.
0:30
Nadal still has two points to go for the title …
5: 6
Amazing! After the serve, Nadal does not continue playing. He says the ball is too long. The referee looks at the print and … indeed! The ball was millimeters from the line. Break Nadal!
30:40
Now it is very hot: Djokovic’s forehand ends out of bounds. Nadal is now stirring the possibility of breaking up.
5: 5
The third move will end in a long series, that’s for sure. The question is: will Nadal win the game or will Nole be saved in the fourth? We will get the answer in the next few minutes. Nadal has definitely found the length in his balls and puts Djokovic under pressure.
5: 4
The third movement turns into a thriller. Djokovic once again dodges a break opportunity and returns. Nole fights with all his might against the impending defeat and demands everything from Nadal again.
4: 4
Nadal draws 4: 4 and benefits from some minor errors by Djokovic. At the same time, Spanish is a little less dominant than in the first two sentences. In general, everything is a completely new game situation.
4: 3
For the first time, something similar to the final mood at Roland Garros emerges today. Djokovic passes his next service game to zero, wins the last point with a good serve and volley. Very strong phase now from the Djoker.
3: 3
Indeed! Djokovic reports in sentence number 3! Although he misses the first opportunity, the Serbian easily takes advantage of the second break. It also benefits from a few small “dropouts” by Nadal.
40:30
Is something still happening here? Nadal shows his weakest service game yet and Djokovic has a break chance. It’s the first chance to break out for world number one in a long time. What can Serbs do with this opportunity?
Here’s an example of the third move from Nadal’s varied game: The Spaniard plays the perfect stopball, otherwise a Djokovic specialty.
Nadal’s beautiful stop ball in the final of the French Open
Nadal unpacks his best tennis in the French Open final against Djokovic, including this stop ball in the third set. (Video: SRF)
2. 3
And although Djokovic felt a little better in the game in the final minutes, the Serbian now granted the break. Rafa takes his opponent’s serve game to zero. This means that Nadal is still three games short of the 13th title at Roland Garros.
2: 2
Nearly kneeling, Nadal hits a backhand winner at the end of the next game. Djokovic is back, but has no chance to break. Above all, the Serbian can now attack Nadal’s second serve better. Still, Nadal is still too strong to be in serious danger.
twenty-one
Djokovic holds on and leads 2-1 in the third set. Nadal’s latest backhand is a few inches too long. Once again, the game is very competitive and Djokovic has to defend himself against a break opportunity. Nadal is a little less efficient than in this game.
eleven
Nadal calls and makes it 1: 1. Djokovic stands his ground and finds angles always better. But it is not enough for a break at the moment.
1: 0
Djokovic manages the start of the third set. The Serbian won the first game with relative ease and was 1-0 up.
In the second set, Nadal dominates the game almost at will. The question is: Can Djokovic do something against such a Nadal? The truth is that either Djokovic’s improvement or Nadal’s phase of weakness are necessary for the result of this match to change.
Sentence!
After just over an hour and a half, Rafa also secured set number two. Nadal leaves the first two balls of the set unused, but all good things come three at a time and that’s why Nadal takes his third chance. After all, Djokovic was able to win two games for himself in this set. This probably only comforts the Serbs up to a point.
2: 5
For once, Djokovic makes a service game relatively easy. It is the first self-serve game in which the Serb is not exposed to a break opportunity.
