Djokovic Dethrones Nadal In Roland Garros
Those in attendance on Friday night witnessed a historic event as Rafael Nadal, six years later, finally lost again at Roland Garros. The Spaniard fell to the man who had been his previous executioner, and one of two he’s had in 108 games in the French capital.
It was Robin Soderling who beat Nadal in 2009, before Novak Djokovic did so in 2015’s quarter-finals. Now, six years on, the Serb has repeated the feat and sent Nadal home.
The world No.1 won by 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, and 6-2 after four hours and 11 minutes’ play. The win sets up a final date with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday after he knocked Alexander Zverev out.
Nadal started strong though and Djokovic, for some time at least, looked as though he was going to find himself in trouble with no obvious point to attack Nadal from. The Spaniard raced into a 5-0 lead, but Djokovic avoided that going to six.
The Serb then started to grow into the occasion despite Nadal’s incredible shift, reaching balls that looked beyond him.
Once Djokovic started to find himself with the upper hand, it was hard to see a way back for Nadal and so it proved, with him physically and mentally beaten.
