All five long and brutal! It is also arguably one of the greatest matches in history, if not the greatest. The third Grand Slam final in a row between the two men, number 1 and 2 in the world, symbolized their rivalry: a battle of unprecedented commitment and brutality.
Djokovic took on this match with a significant psychological edge. He had won all seven of his seven encounters with Nadal in , each time in the final. But the Serb had just played two days earlier an extraordinary semi-final against Andy Murray, won in the fifth set. Nadal won the first set, and had never lost a Grand Slam final doing so. Nadal held on, kept battling for every point, and eventually snatched the fourth set. He celebrates the win as if he had won the tournament on his knees.
The Spaniard carried on to get the break first in the fifth set. Yet Djokovic rallied from a deficit and fought back by taking again the Nadal serve. In an unbreathable atmosphere, at more than am local time, Djokovic saved a last breakpoint on his serve, then converted his first match point with a stunning forehand winner to claim a dramatic victory, , , , 5 , The Serb then took his shirt off and roared in a celebration that will be remembered.
Eventually, organisers took pity, brought chairs and bottles of water. With , this match is the longest Grand Slam final in history. The two best defenders fought in an astonishing endurance contest. Djokovic finished with 57 wins to 69 unforced errors, Nadal with 44 wins to 71 unforced errors.
Another marathon with exceptional drama. The Serb was a man on a mission. He was on his way to knock Nadal out of Roland-Garros when he served with a break lead at in the fifth set. Nadal had never been so challenged in a fifth set at Roland-Garros. But at on his serve, a point will cost Djokovic dearly: the Serb lost his balance in after rushing to hit a winning overhead, he hit the net and lost the point. On the next point, an unforced error of his gave Nadal the break back. The Spaniard then went in for the kill and prevailed , , , 3 , Wimbledon Semi-Final For the first time in three years, the champions met again, in an early final to join Kevin Anderson in the final.
They delivered once again a fight of unbelievable intensity and tennis quality. He also played football soccer at this time, but when he won the Spanish and European titles for his age group at age 12, his father made him choose between the sports. At 14, after his parents turned down the Spanish tennis federation's request to send him to Barcelona for more training, he lost much of his funding from the Spanish Tennis Federation, with his father covering his costs.
He turned pro when he was Djokovic is an all-court player who emphasizes aggressive baseline play. His backhand is considered the best in the game today, and he has superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. Nadal has an aggressive, behind-the-baseline playing style built on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and total court coverage.
He uses a full western grip forehand, and specializes on the clay court. Up to the June , Djokovic and Nadal have played 42 matches against each other.
Out of those games, Nadal won 23 times, and Djokovic won 19 times. They first met at the quarterfinals at the French Open, where Nadal won, and their first final together was the Indian Wells Masters Tournament. Djokovic appeared in his first Grand Slam in the Australian Open, where he was defeated by Marat Safin in the first round. He reached the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year.
He also won the Australian Open in and He missed the Australian Open in due to a foot injury, but defeated Federer in the Frech Open final. He then lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final. Equally impressive is his record against eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer, who has the best win percentage on grass in the Open Era Djokovic is against Federer on grass, all three wins coming in the finals of Wimbledon.
Nobody grinds five-setters out better than Djokovic. In matches that went the distance, Djokovic has a record of 35 wins and 10 losses; a win rate of Djokovic also reigns supreme when it comes to matches against top-ten opponents. Both Federer and Nadal are at In , he became the only singles player to complete the Career Golden Masters — completing the set of all nine Masters singles titles.
In , he claimed another set of nine to extend his record. Login to post your comment. Show More Comments. No thanks Delete. Cancel Update. Login to reply. Cancel Reply. Contact Us. GDPR Compliance.
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