The king of clay: Nadal releases his legend and erases Djokovic from Roland Garros

It was a game. Rafael Nadal (4th) once again made history at Philippe Chatrier. He defeated Novak Djokovic (1st) in an anthology duel and clenched his fist in a new episode of the most intense rivalry the tennis world has ever seen. At the end, victory by sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 and 7-6(4) which places him among the first four of Roland-Garros with the illusion of lifting his 14th title in Paris more alive than ever.

Today Roland Garros has disguised himself. The biggest clay-court tournament in the world knew it had a historic affair on its main court. The two most iconic racquets of the last decade (and why not in history) went head-to-head. It was going to be the 59th confrontation between them and the tenth in the orange soil of Paris . But it was not just any duel in this rivalry. Maybe it was a definitive chance to frame the story. Nadal had said it in the previous one: “It could be my last game here”.

And the author of this sentence seemed to enter more into the court. It was a feeling that had already been seen during the first train. The Spaniard was looking with cross rights and deep shots to make it clear he was going to lead. Djokovic was trying to counter it with his elasticity and defense. But Manacorí’s break came in the first game of the game after 10 minutes of hard fighting.

This feeling of protagonism was a tonic in the first set. Nadal with a lot of revolutions, taking advantage of the last hours of light and a sublime forehand, worked a first set that was looking better and better for him. He broke again at 3-1 and was within range . With two breaks in his favor (partly due to Djoko’s very low first-serve percentages), the Balearics clocked the times and clenched their fists to close the quarter 6-2. A sign of intentions, but at the same time just a detail in a battle that was going to be much longer. And it is that point by point the title of a great game It was written in big letters.

But for Nadal, winning the first set was not enough. He remembered that in 2021 it had started the same and that the meeting had slowly eclipsed. That’s why he came out like a beast in the second. Entry break, service for and new break . It was a few minutes where he was 3-0 down and playing total tennis. But despite that, the Serb didn’t kick the set. He was almost miraculously recomposed and took on an evil role. He attacked with his backhand and supported every second serve of the champion 13 times.

Moment to frame the game where Rafa was 3-2 and served . The game lasted 15 minutes! That’s why the world number one’s break was so much more than a break. It was a paradigm shift. With that momentum, he managed to take the partial 6-4 and leave everything even. Nole shouted loudly, Nadal inevitably had a flashback to the match they played last year on this same ground.

That’s why what was seen in the third set was very strange. While everyone thought that the Balkan would take advantage of the fact that the pressure was on his rival, the king of clay passed him. It was fast and ruthless . Almost forcing himself to the fact that he couldn’t bring his nemesis back to life.

He had an increase in his service and mobility, close the set 6-2 with great comfort . Everything lived in the second set, the doubts and the return, were left behind. Far behind. In a way without appeal, the Manacorí sent a strong message. The beast was unleashed and heading towards its great rival.

But this match was a never-ending battle. History was written in sweat and blood and in a dream scenario like Philippe Chatrier, that was not going to change. Nadal came back from 5-2 and managed to shatter the Serbian’s dream of being able to catch up with him in the fight for the big ones . At the table of the 21 Grand Slam tournaments, Rafa is still the only man invited. He did it in a breakthrough film, where It was 6-1 but it just closed with 7-4.

Thus, the film called “Nadal vs Djokovic” has new data. The Spaniard shortens the distances and stays 29 to 30 face to face in addition to widening his lead (8-2) in the French Slam, a tournament where he holds a record of 110 wins against only three losses.

Now wait Zverev, but that’s another problem. What happened today was unique and the world of tennis goes back to that. On another day when super humans battled it out in the 24-meter-long rectangle, tennis celebrated. Nadal too, because he is still alive in his tournament, because the 14 continues with the flame lit and because he has once again shown that he is the best in history.