Nadal beats Djokovic in Roland Garros semi-finals

No, it was not a match like any other. It was never between Nadal and Djokovic. On the one hand, the man with the most Grand Slam titles in history, a 21- and 13-time champion in Paris. On the other hand, the No. 1 player in the world, the opponent, almost always had to play the role of the “bad guy” while on the other side of the net were the beloved Rafa and Roger. In the end, the wrestler won the left wrestler who continues his race to Roland Garros, seeded 14, after defeating the world number one 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4). On Friday, on his 36th birthday, he will face Sasha Zverev in the semi-finals No. 15 in Paris, No. 37 in a major tournament.

“The Most Important Tournament”

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Nadal and his second home, Nadal started as an underdog on the eve of Episode 59 of the already legendary rivalry. Ten days ago, Majorcan didn’t even know if he’d come to play for Roland Garros and tonight, after a five-set fight against Eliasim two days ago to win the deluxe quarter with Nol, the Majorcan with his left foot literally cut off, he stayed in camp for more than four hours for an endless battle. To her, which began in May and ended in June on a cold Parisian night: “Thank you, thank you all – as he said after the battle – your support is incredible, exceptional. This is the most important thing in my life. It was a very difficult match, Novak is the strongest ever and in Every time it’s an intense fight. The only way to beat it is to play at a very high level from first to last point.”

the match

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Djokovic starts serving, first 15 of Nol. A very long exchange (22 shots), Nole’s forehand ends on the net, 15-15 and a growl from the Chatrier, posted mostly to the Spaniard. Goes to the advantages. Rafa sets a very high tempo and has a break point, then another, and a third. Neither of them wants to give up an inch and after 10 minutes the benefits are still there. In the end Rafa passes, 1-0 in front. Nol pushes, takes 30-30, but gives Nadal time to think. The Spaniard strengthens his lead and leads 2-0. In the fourth inning, Nol has two chances to return with a tie. But Nadal cancels it, and when in the lead he misses, and returns it 40-40. With two straight lines down the line, he steps back and closes the bar throwing the Serbian ball practice for 3-1. Left-handed thrust continuous, he continued to break the ball into the fifth inning: With a straight shot on the line, he unleashes Chatrier’s delirium, now leading 4-1. The set is now broken for Djokovic, who lost 6-2. Nadal is possessed by demons. Leaving nothing, attacking every ball and still putting Nole under pressure, forced to save himself from a break, six times, even at the start of the second set. But in the seventh chance, Rafa moves forward as in the first set. The Serbian looks like a punched-out boxer, taking another break in the third inning. On the other hand, Majorcan is not mistaken, and the winners so far are 25 for 12 of the No. 1 in the world. Nole, however, is retaking the first and second break as well, with four straight games leading forward 4-3. At 5-4, the fogging continues from Nadal, who drops serve and with him the set. Everything will be rebuilt.

Let’s start again

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Nadal resumes as in the previous two sets and after two and a half hours, the third set opens again with the Spaniard before the break. The 21 Slam champion has to struggle to keep his serve 3-1, but this time it was Djokovic who was suffering. He gives up the serving role and ends up 4-1 under thanks to a double fault and backhand. Now the balance is on the side of the Spaniard. He had been playing for nearly three hours and in Paris it was so cold that many spectators started to leave the stadium. Rafa tries to speed up the time and finishes 6-2 this time in “only” 41 minutes. The fourth set runs fast, as Nadal lost serve and sank 3-0. Both in a hurry to close, Majorcan in Match Seven tries to hang the number 1 in the world but the attempt is unsuccessful. The chance returns in the ninth game and this time Rafa is more interactive, attentive, plays deep and manages, with a miracle of perseverance only from him, to return the result in a draw. The tie-breaker was decided, with Rafa leading 2-0, then 4-1. Finally, having scored 3 match points, he closed and reached the semi-finals in Paris for the fifteenth time. wisdom.