Recap: Rafa’s 3 most thrilling matches of 2018

Both the legends matched each other shot for shot in this thrilling encounter

#2: Nadal Vs Djokovic, Wimbledon Semi-Final, July 13-14

Just 2 days after his epic quarter-final clash with Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro, Nadal found himself engaged in a ruthless battle, this time against his nemesis, none other than Novak Djokovic.

Not only the match was decided in five sets but also it lasted over a course of 2 days as the match began 5 minutes past 8 in the evening on Friday and after being suspended for the day, was completed on Saturday, thanks to ever-lasting battle between Kevin Anderson & John Isner that saw the scoreline for the deciding set as Anderson 26-24 which took place right before the mouth-watering Rafa-Djoker second semi-final clash.

After two disappointing years on SW 19 and being plagued by injury and poor form for the majority of 2017, new look Djokovic was raring to go in what was to be his ultimate test since his comeback earlier this year. After Djokovic won the all-important first set 6-4, Nadal came storming back winning the second set 6-3. With neither Djokovic nor Nadal willing to give away an inch, the third set was forced to be decided via a tiebreaker.

Just like the other day against Delpo, Nadal was the first to reach to a set point playing with strength and finesse, executing that drop shot exceptionally at 5-5 in the tiebreak, but once again squandered that advantage as Djokovic secured the 3rd set and was just a set away from a berth in Wimbledon final.

After the match resumed on Saturday with Djokovic leading 2-1 in the set tally, Rafa looked like a man on a mission as he made an explosive start gaining a 3-0 advantage in the 4th set. But we all know how tough Djokovic is and responded strongly by squaring the set at 3-3. However, Rafa was all but determined too, to push the match into the 5th set and once again broke Djokovic in the 8th game, eventually conquering the set by a margin of 6 games to 3.

This was the third instance when Rafa-Djoker match headed into the fifth set. At 3-4, Nadal faced some anxious moments as he faced a break point, but quickly brushed aside any chances of providing his rival an early break by serving pin-point at the ‘T’ and then finishing the point by a blistering inside-out forehand.

At 7-7, with Djokovic serving, Nadal had two break points, but Djokovic was quick to shut the door for his opponents with a fine cross-court forehand. This match was already bringing back the memories of last year’s Round 4 match between Rafa and Giles Muller, where each one of them simply refused to be broken. At 8-9, 0-30, Nadal slipped and thereby was up against an uphill task of saving three match points. And it was not to be as Nadal finally succumbed to Djokovic’s inspired efforts and Djoker had prevailed, winning the toughest match since his comeback, taking out Nadal in 5 sets, in 5 hours 15 minutes to be precise, over a course of 2 days.

This match was worth its value in gold, fought fiercely between two rejuvenated men, unlike two previous 5-setters, one at Australian open 2012 & one at Roland Garros 2013 which were more like bull-fights fought with extreme strength, aggression and undying willpower between two men at the peaks of their prowess.