Nadal outlasts Djokovic to reach 8th French Open final

On a bright and sunny Summer day in Paris, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played out yet another classic five set marathon for a coveted place in the finals of the 112^th French Open. The strains of these titanic warriors reverberated not just inside Stade Roland Garros but in the expanses of the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The match echoed the events of another brutal duel between the two gladiators – remember the ultra-marathon in Melbourne 2012? Djokovic hung by his little finger to a fraying thread to force the fifth set before succumbing to the King of Clay.

Eventually, it took Nadal four hours and 37 minutes of mostly breath-taking power tennis to protect his throne from the irreverent attack of the committed invader from Serbia. The effort was nearly epic as the King held on for dear life in the final set before completing his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 victory over Djokovic. The drenched Nadal was soaked in the joy of his 20^th victory over Djokovic in their 35^th meeting, even as the Stadium erupted in chants of delirious men and women wooed by the galactic brilliance of their emperor.

In a gist – Nadal set a blistering pace to set the tone with a commanding performance in the first set. Djokovic clinched the second set after recovering from a break down. Nadal returned to head of the table by sweeping his opponent off the court in a lopsided third set. Djokovic responded as only he can, fighting back twice from a break down in the fourth set. He stopped Nadal when he was serving for the match at 6-5 to force a tie-breaker.

Nadal lost an early break in the decider, but never gave up hope. He broke back Djokovic to tame his soaring spirits before pounding him to submission in the sixteenth game of the final set. Nadal outdid Djokovic in both winners and errors – the Spaniard has 61 winners, seven more than his opponent. At 75 unforced errors Djokovic gifted a whopping 31 more points than Nadal – that could account for more than a set in an average match.

It was probably the Serbian’s best match against Nadal on clay, but he was let down by his ground strokes at critical junctures of this gratifying contest to lose by the narrowest of margins.

Nadal owns Court Philippe Chatrier and the first set just served to emphasise the fact to his formidable opponent. Djokovic struggled through the early parts of the second set, but held on grimly to stay in touch with Nadal at 2-2. The break seemed inevitable though and Nadal sealed it in the fifth game. Djokovic conjured three straight errors from 30-0 in that game and Nadal grabbed his opportunity dispatching a backhand down the line winner off a poorly struck drop shot.

Down a set and a break, Djokovic was passing through a dark alley. Nadal held a torch for him when he made a troika of errors in the next game. The world No. 1 leapt at the opportunity, but Nadal fought back to force deuce. Eventually though, Djokovic broke back at the third attempt to stay even at 3-3. After Djokovic held the seventh game with an ace, Nadal reached game point at 40-30 in the eighth game.

The set took a sudden turn though, when Nadal followed a forehand error with an untimely double fault to offer a break point to the Serbian. Djokovic produced a characteristically belligerent forehand cross court winner to take the break. Another winner of similar design and pedigree earned the Serbian a 5-3 lead. Soon Djokovic took his first set point to put the match on an even keel.

What happened next was a monstrous Nadal wave that sank his opponent in a flood of deep distress. The Serbian’s misery started with an unfortunate call from the chair umpire, when he was facing break point in the second game. The hawk-eye suggested that the ball clipped the line, but the umpire thought otherwise. The game was awarded to Nadal and a deflated Djokovic slipped into a downward spiral.

Very soon, Nadal had a 5-0 lead with his opponent looking more and more listless with the passage of play. As if to save his dignity, Djokovic dug deep from 15-40 in the sixth game to survive the two set points to hold serve and avoid a bagel. At 40-0 in the next game, Nadal had three set points for a two sets to one lead. As is habit, the Spaniard took far too long between points and the umpire acted to dock him a point. But Djokovic was too spent to cause any further dent, as Nadal clinched the set with the help of an unforced error from his opponent.

With his back to the wall, Djokovic battled hard to stay even at 3-3. The situation took a grim turn for Djokovic when he fell to 15-40 in the seventh game. The desperate Djokovic struck a blistering forehand cross court winner to save a break point. But he courted disaster when he framed a forehand on the next point to surrender the vital break. But great champions always call on their best shots when they most need it.

Djokovic did just that when he inspired himself with a backhand return winner, taking four points in a row to break back to 4-4. It was a game reminiscent of Djokovic’s effort against Roger Federer when he was down match point against the Swiss at the US Open not too long ago. Djokovic made it eight points in a row, when he held to love in the next game. The eleventh game.

With the match on edge, Nadal struck a couple of fearsome forehand winners to inch closer to a momentous victory at 30-15 in the twelfth game. But Djokovic won the next two points to earn another break point at a pivotal time. And a forehand up the line winner brought the crowd to its feet held aloft by their collective respect for the grim fighter living inside Djokovic. The Serbian surfed the wave to gain a handy 4-3 lead in the tie-break, a fifth set was looming in the air that filled the majestic arena.

Djokovic took set point with a confident smash to reach 6-3, but it was Nadal who had the ball on his racket. It didn’t matter because the Serbian took the set with some sensational defence from the baseline, retrieving like a well-trained Labrador retriever. The nearly hour long set was a definitive statement from the top dog in tennis of his intense desire to offer his tributes to his now departed coach.

Nadal made his second double fault of the match to fall to 0-30 at the start of the fifth set. A forehand return that had fluency written all over it won three break points for the Serbian. Aware of the danger, Nadal played with renewed purpose to save two of them. But the Spaniard sent a forehand long on the next point to suffer the early break in the decisive final set.

Djokovic surrendered an immediate break point though when he botched an easy overhead put away in the second game. At risk of squandering the break, Djokovic rose to the challenge snuffing out Nadal’s chances to take a 2-0 lead. As the air intensified, both players made double faults in their subsequent service games. But each man fought stoically to hold their own under mounting pressure.

The eighth game turned into a momentous duel that threatened to burn down the court in the heat of its intensity. Djokovic was docked a point midway through the unfolding drama, when he fell on the net after crunching a smash winner. Nadal took advantage of the blip, to clinch back the break and claw back to 4-4 in the final set.

Nadal held serve in the next game to leave Djokovic serving to stay in the match. An incredible forehand winner that looped in the air before falling on the baseline left the match poised on razor edge at 30-30. The power and persistence of the Serbian, who responds to danger like a seasoned warrior, helped Djokovic stave off the threat.

But the dynamics of the fifth set had been altered beyond recognition. Now it was Djokovic who would constantly play catch up. Nadal held serve easily to take the lead for the first time at 6-5. As always, Djokovic produced his best under stress. He produced four blistering first serves to help himself to a hold at love to stay even at 6-6.

At the other end, Nadal was also at his belligerent best, striking winners on either flank as if they had only stepped on court moments ago. As the men stretched every sinew in their body seeking an elusive edge, Nadal kept his nose ahead holding serve to 8-7. Needing to hold serve to stay in the match, Djokovic suffered a crippling bout of self-doubt that proved to be fatal.

The Serbian made a couple of forehand errors – one that sailed long and another that refused to clear the net as he fell 0-30 behind in what proved to be final game. Djokovic offered Nadal three match points when he flailed a backhand long on the next point. Yet another classic between these two titans drew to a close when Djokovic sent his forehand beyond the baseline on the next point.

The gut busting victory took Nadal into his 8^th final at Roland Garros in nine attempts, making him the overwhelming favourite for another epochal title at this premier clay court championship. After witnessing such a high quality tussle between two equally determined men, it is difficult to pick otherwise, especially when the probable man across the net – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or David Ferrer – lacks the experience or pedigree to mount a serious enough threat to the throne of the seven-time champion.

Nadal is now 58-1 at the French Open, his only loss having come in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling. With due respect to his opponent, count on Nadal to become the first man to win an unprecedented eight titles at the same grand slam event on Sunday.