Nadal Loses to Djokovic in Olympic Match of History

RAfa Nadal and Novak Djokovic bet today more than likely the final touch to a legendary rivalry with his second round bout at the Olympic Games in Paris, which the Serb won with a score of 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes.

Eighteen years after the first of 59 matches (30 wins for the Serb and 29 wins for the Spaniard), which, oddly enough, was played on the same court, forever linked to the legend of the Balearic tennis player, Rafa and Nole played a match between symbolism and nostalgia between the sky and the ochre Parisian earth.

This first battle ended with the retreat of the Serbs. After the opening two sets, Nadal dominated 6-4. It was in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in 2006, when they were 20 and 19. The rest is tennis history in all caps.

There will then be nine more matches in the magical land of Paris, as well as seven more victories in Spain and two in the Balkans in 2015 and 2021. They never saw each other’s faces again.

In fact, they have only met each other eight times in the other majors.

Perhaps that is why this premature fight in the 1/8 finals of the Olympic tournament became a wonderful wink of fate. match, which was on the flank for several days due to physical discomfort in Rafa’s right thighwho even suspended training with Alexander Zverev last Thursday.

Except His presence in the doubles tournament with Carlos Alcaraz also did not cause any strain. because to move up the individual standings I had to double in a few days. Despite everything, Nadal stepped into Philippe Chatrier’s shoes today to honor his legacy as a tennis player who never gave up the ball and always respected his opponents.

Match similar to the one planned

The match itself It was Everest for the Spaniard, who is no longer capable of conquering such impressive peaks. as the one represented by the world number 2. That was the feeling, and the developments confirmed it.

Nole got the first break in the second game and in the blink of an eye he was up 3-0, which was already weighing heavily on Rafa’s broad shoulders. The crowd that filled Philippe Chatrier was undoubtedly with the Spaniard – cries of “Rafa, Rafa” followed one after another. but the Serb did not give him the opportunity to answer.

The Serb’s second break cast a shadow over Roscoe, something Djokovic had never managed to achieve against Nadal. that he has two 6-0 wins over his current opponent: in the 2019 Italian Masters final and at Roland Garros in 2020.

La Chatrier attended somewhat distrustfully, even observing a respectful silence between the murmurs. the beating suffered by his idol, who was proud to have escaped this “luxury” with a good sixth game. The first set was 6-1, with Rafa making 21 mistakes in 39 minutes.Ten of them were unforced, leaving no room for doubt in each player’s tennis moment.

From the very beginning, the return match did not deviate one millimetre from the script, which was all too predictable and certainly painful for the Spanish hosts present in Chatrier. Nole won 4-0 in 24 minutes of effective and sometimes beautiful tennis.

Nadal sets Chatrier on fire

Nadal drew strength from weakness to, in principle, avoid the “rosco” again, and then In the sixth game he achieved the famous break, which opened a small door to an epic that became even bigger after he again won his serve with enough strength to level the set. with the Serb’s second break in service. At that moment, Chatrier, eager to see more tennis, was furious.

Novak put out the fire with an exquisite drop shot. and a fifth break that allowed him to finally serve and finish the match, putting his hand to his ear and earning subsequent whistles from the stands. You know, respect and affection are also earned by the attitude a person shows on the court.

The final 6.1, 6-4 makes it clear that Nole came to Paris to get rid of the Olympic thorn and that Rafa was playing a game that he felt he couldn’t win because His respect for tennis is even greater than the impressive statue erected in his honor at the entrance to Roland Garros.

Djokovic’s Outstanding Debt

For Djokovic, these Games are almost certainly his last chance at Olympic gold. In a country with a strong nationalist edge like Serbia, Nole’s reputation for defending his flag is frankly poor.

Barely Davis Cup (2010) and Olympic bronze (2008). Nadal has five Davis Cup medals and two Olympic gold medals.. His “debt” to Spain, so to speak, is more than paid. Despite this, he wants to win a third gold with Carlitos. A title that will be spoken of almost with reverence as time goes on.

Novak knows this and took the Paris event very seriously, right up to give up doubles to focus on singles in which he has Zverev and especially Alcaraz as great rivals on the horizon. Apparently, today he has many arguments to fight for the title, but Alcaraz has already left him collected and without a girl at Wimbledon. We’ll see.