Nadal succumbed in Paris to a very good Djokovic

Paris 2024 lived one of those magical days, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic facing each other on the clay of Roland Garros. 46 Grand Slam titles have been collected in the same match. Victory went to the Serbian in two sets 6-1, 6-4 (1h40′), dominating the match at will. People are expecting a tough battle between the two tennis legends, but the differences are huge.

“I am very relieved to win the match after trust me more than necessary in the second set,” he confessed Djokovic. “You can’t give Nadal a chance, especially on this court. It was very difficult to close the game,” said the Serbian. “I really appreciate this match because we have been fighting on this court for 20 years. Games like this benefit both of us. He was not at his best, but we had a lot of fun on the track,” added the champion.

This is the second time nadal and Djokovic They are in the wilderness Olympic Games, after their confrontation in the semifinals of Beijing 2008, where the Mallorcan won and ended up taking gold -Djokovic was bronze-. Follow up Philippe Chatrier It was completely filled, with more than 15,000 people and with an atmosphere of living a “last dance” of a historical conflict.

The most iconic rivalry in tennis is the one in between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal due to the contrast in their playing styles. A match repeated 40 times. However, the biggest rivalry in the history of tennis in terms of number of matches is the Nadal-Djokovic. In Paris it was his 60th game, a record the Serbian dominated with 31 wins compared to the Balearic Islands’ 29. In fact, both players also hold the record for most confrontations Roland Garros with 11, with a clear dominance of the Mallorcan 8-3.

Novak Djokovic He started the game cautiously so as not to fail. With the hammer of this progressive rhythm that gradually moves forward without the opponent realizing it. That’s what happened in Mallorca, which in an instant, entered 39 minutes, saw how he was left without the first set. The intensity of the Serbian game was too high for the Spaniard, who struggled to find his rhythm, with many remaining in the service box at the mercy of his rival. Djokovic controlled the match well with his amazing two-handed backhandwith a very deep parallel ball that rattled Nadal.

‘Nope‘He arrived at the Olympic tournament after an irregular year in which he was a finalist at Wimbledon (lost to Carlos Alcaraz), a semi-finalist in Australia (lost to Jannik Sinner) and a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, retired against Casper Ruud due to a knee injury. In its part, nadal He missed Australia and Wimbledon and at Roland Garros he lost the first match to Alexander Zverev. A week before arriving in Paris he competed in the ATP 250 in Bastad (Sweden), where he lost in the final against the Portuguese Nuno Borges.

The second set started more of the same, Djokovic dominating the court at will and Nadal in tow trying to surprise with risky balls to the corners. The Serbian went 4-0 up, but then the claw of nadal to make a miraculous comeback out of nowhere. The Mallorcan leveled the score at 4-4 by the break which was the best point of the fight, with an exchange of blows that filled those present with nostalgia, recalling the fiercest fight that both heroes fought in recent times. Rafa used his pride to cover up a marker that hurt a lot. The audience chants, chants of “Rafa, Rafa”, in the hope of extending a unique show. But the Serbian settled his thoughts, calmed down his game and broke the Spaniard’s serve to sentence the match to his serve. This is the fourth time Djokovic has reached the third round of an Olympic tournament, the only major title missing from his record and he has competed in the last five events (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024).