There is no one who retires Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard, winner of 21 Grand Slam titles, is still determined to wage war and this Tuesday, with nocturnality and treachery, he has imposed himself on Novak Djokovic in four sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 and 7-6 (4) after four hours and 12 minutes of play, to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. The German waits there alexander zverevwho in the first game of the day beat Carlos Alcarazalso in four sets (6-4, 6-4, 4-6 and 7-6 (7)) after three hours and 18 minutes.
Nadal is simply incredible. He arrived in Paris touched, after having reappeared a little over a month ago at the Mutua Madrid Open after leaving behind a cracked ribs, and the outlook was not exactly rosy. In the quarterfinals he was destined to meet Novak Djokovic: both have fulfilled their paths to promote the matchup number 59 between the Spanish and the Serbian, reviving one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport.
This last duel has been won by Manacor, who now has an unfavorable balance of 30-29 with the Serbian. All very similar to that of Belgrade: 21 Grand Slam titles for Rafa for the 20 of nolethe only two players in the Open Era to have won the Grand Four at least twice… big words for two true monsters of the racket, whose rivalry began precisely here, in Paris, 16 years ago, in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros 2006.
The real Madrid, Nadal’s team is a recognized amateur, it won its fourteenth European Cup a few days ago in the French capital. And this Sunday, with Zverev’s permission, the man from Manacor will seek to win his fourteenth Musketeers Cup on center court Philippe Chatrier. It would be awesome…
The comparisons between the white team and the Balearic tennis player are endless: when both seem defeated, mortally wounded, they are capable of rising from their ashes like a Phoenix to end up beating their rivals one after another. Everything was against Nadal tonight, but it was in the difficulty that he found his strength. The Majorcan saved two set points in the fourth set, chained three consecutive games, desperate Djokovic and ended up sealing her umpteenth masterpiece in her fetish tournament. A victory that tastes of glory for the rival that it is.
As soon as his round of 16 match ended, against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3), Nadal warned that against Djokovic it could be his “last match ” at Roland Garros. Rafa will turn 36 this Friday, but above all he has been dragging physical discomfort and pain in his left foot which, however, does not prevent him from leaving the toughest rivals by the wayside.
the match before nole It was epic, with a dedicated audience at the Philippe Chatrier night session. He had asked Rafa not to play at night, but the organization ignored him, heeding the claims of Amazon television. Little did it matter.
With night and treachery
Nadal started impressively, breaking Djokovic’s serve at the first change. The Balkan misplaced before the aggressiveness of his rival, despite the fact that he knows him perfectly. The Spaniard, very effective from the baseline and brilliant in decisive moments, had everything going for him and closed a fairly comfortable first set with his service. Rafa also had the public in his favor. Djokovic did not lose his composure, but he did pay dearly for this season’s inactivity despite his good performance on the ground.
nole was able to stop the momentum of Rafa, who had achieved two consecutive breaks. The Balkan was 3-0 against, but he took the caste and signed four games in a row, found the point to his right and equalized a match where all the scripts were starting to blow up. Tie to a set and everything to decide.
The two contenders were very tired and, in addition, the ball weighed more as it was more humid, but both seemed to be fresh despite the late hours of the night. Rafa responded fiercely and the match was once again in his favor after a spectacular 6-2.
Nadal had victory against Djokovic within his grasp. But it was not going to be easy, much less think. In that fourth set, the Serbian He got 5-2 with authentic hammer blows from the middle of the track and seemed to touch a Nadal who never left the game. The world number one had two set points, but Rafa saved them in an incredible way. Djokovic faded away and only Nadal believed in a comeback that came true in the final tiebreaker after leaving his rival shivering.
Nadal ended up taking the cat to the water after more than four hours of the game. A real great match that delighted the spectators. Two old rockers who never die. Tennis is a spectacular sport and, if Rafa Nadal is on the court, it is even greater. The Fourteenth may be on the way, although Alexander Zverev will not make it easy for the man from Manacor either. In the other part of the table, the quarterfinals will be completed this Wednesday with the duels Casper Ruud (8)-Holger Rune Y Andrey Rublev (7)-Marin Cilic (20).
