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Brain Game: Where Djokovic Hit Pay Dirt Against Nadal

  • Posted: Jun 12, 2021

Novak Djokovic hit pay dirt on the red dirt in the sweet spot of the rally.

Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the Roland Garros semi-finals on Friday by dominating mid-length rallies, which have traditionally been controlled by the Spaniard throughout his career. Overall, Nadal won the short exchanges and Djokovic barely edged his rival in the longer, extended rallies. Ultimately, Djokovic found the separation he desperately needed when the rally length was specifically between four and seven shots.

The average rally length for the match was 5.3 shots, so the more points that were played right around the average, the more success Djokovic enjoyed. The Serbian won an extremely healthy 51.2 per cent (95/185) of his baseline points for the match, while Nadal could only manage 44.8 per cent (90/201).

Rally Lengths – 0-3 Shots
Nadal committed an uncharacteristic eight double faults for the match, and combined with nine return errors, sunk his own ship too often before he had a chance to challenge Djokovic in heavyweight baseline exchanges. Those errors withstanding, Nadal still enjoyed a seven-point advantage for the match in short exchanges of zero to three shots.

Points Won: 0-3 Shots
• Djokovic = 41 points
• Nadal = 48 points

In the opening set, Nadal built a commanding 18-11 advantage in 0-3 shot rallies, hitting seven winners and collecting 11 total errors from Djokovic.

Rally Lengths – 4-7 Shots
This is where the Super Serbian exerted the most pressure on Nadal. These rallies typically included a deep return from Djokovic followed by a solid crosscourt backhand and a bruising forehand that proved too tough handle. Djokovic was relentless with these mid-length flurries. Get the point started, and then throw enough punches in quick succession that all stun Nadal and force him onto his back foot.

Points Won / Rally Length
• Four Shots = Djokovic 19 points/Nadal 9 points
• Five Shots = Djokovic 17 points/Nadal 15 points
• Six Shots = Djokovic 11 points/Nadal 11 points
• Seven Shots = 17 points/Nadal 5 points

Total
• Djokovic = 54 points
• Nadal = 40 points

Overall, Djokovic amassed 54 points in these four specific rally lengths, while Nadal totalled just 40. Djokovic won just 18 more points (142-124) for the match, with 14 of them coming in these mid-length rallies. The biggest disparity was in seven-shot rallies, where Djokovic was 12 points better (17-5).

A seven-shot rally can only be won by the server, because what’s counted is the ball landing in the court, not hitting the strings. So the end of a seven-shot rally is a winner from the server or an error on the ensuring shot from the returner, which is still seven balls in the court. So these exchanges involve Djokovic hitting three shots after the serve, typically leaning on the ball more and more until Nadal was stretched off court committing an error.

Rally Lengths 8+ Shots
When the points drifted longer to eight shots or more, it was Djokovic who stepped up and hit the most winners with 17 to 13. He was was able to squeak out a marginal advantage, winning three more points overall than Nadal.

Points Won 8+ Shots
• Djokovic = 39 points
• Nadal = 36 points

There were three main parts of the match that all played a pivotal part in Djokovic’s ultimate victory. The first was managing to win three games in the first set after trailing 0-5. Avoiding a first-set blowout quickly erased memories of Nadal doing just that to him in last year’s final.

The second element was winning the decisive third set in a tie-break. That set will go down as one of the greatest sets in the history of our sport. And lastly, it was winning six straight games in the fourth set after trailing 0-2. He was able to relax and really hit through the ball better than he did at any other stage of the match.

Nadal had 48 winners and 93 total errors for the match. Djokovic had 50 winners and yielded just 76 forced and unforced errors. Nadal missed more than normal. Djokovic successfully made Nadal uncomfortable on his most comfortable court in the world.

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Djokovic Says Beating Nadal Like 'Climbing Mount Everest'

  • Posted: Jun 12, 2021

Novak Djokovic has played countless classics during his illustrious career, and the World No. 1 put his four-set semi-final victory against 13-time champion Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros on Friday near the very top.

“[It was] definitely the best match that I was ever part of [at] Roland Garros, and [it was among the] top three matches that I’ve ever played in my entire career,” Djokovic said. “[That is] considering quality of tennis, playing my biggest rival on the court where he has had so much success and has been the dominant force in the past 15-plus years, and the atmosphere, which was completely electric. For both players, [we had] a lot of support. Just amazing.”

The 2016 champion knew the challenge in front of him when he stepped onto Court Philippe-Chatrier. After beating Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals, the Serbian said facing Nadal here is “not like any other match. Let’s face it, it’s the biggest challenge that you can have: playing on clay against Nadal, on this court on which he has had so much success in his career.” Yet Djokovic attacked the test and passed with flying colours, handing the third seed his third loss at this event (105-3).

“It’s hard to find words bigger than all the superlatives you can think of for Rafa’s achievements [at] Roland Garros. He has been the most dominant player of Roland Garros history. He lost [here] two, now three times, in his entire career,” Djokovic said. “He’s been playing here almost 20 years. That achievement speaks for itself. The amount of wins that he has made on this court is incredible. Each time you step on the court with him, you know that you have to climb Mount Everest to win against this guy here.

“I [had] won only once in our eight matches that we ever played on Chatrier here [at] Roland Garros. I tried to take some positives and some cues from that match in 2015 that I won against him to implement tonight, which worked out very nicely.

“But it’s just one of these matches that I really will remember for a very long time, not just because I won the match, but because of the atmosphere and just the occasion was very special.”

Novak Djokovic

Not only was this a classic match, but it felt like a major final. The only problem for Djokovic is that he spent four hours and 11 minutes to claw past Nadal, and he still has another match in front of him against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated sixth seed Alexander Zverev in five sets earlier in the day.

Djokovic can become the first player in the Open Era to win the Australian Open-Roland Garros double twice (also 2016), which would keep his hopes of a calendar-year Grand Slam alive. He can also become the first player in the Open Era to claim all four major trophies twice.

“It’s not the first time that I’ve played an epic semi-final in a Grand Slam and then I have to come back in less than 48 hours and play the final. My recovery abilities [have been] pretty good, I must say, throughout my career,” Djokovic said. “Obviously my physiotherapist will try to do everything possible so I can be fresh. Because I played enough tennis, I don’t need to train too much. It’s really now just about taking things slowly until the day of the final.”

One major advantage Djokovic has is that he has been here several times before. The 18-time Grand Slam champion has competed in 28 major finals. This will be Tsitsipas’ first shot at Slam glory.

“I know what I need to do. Obviously Tsitsipas, [it is his] first time in the final of a Grand Slam,” Djokovic said. “For him it’s a great achievement, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to stop there. He’s in great form. I think he leads [the FedEx ATP Race To Turin] this year. He’s had his best results overall. I think he matured as a player a lot. Clay arguably is his best surface.

“We played an epic five-setter last year in the semis here. I know it’s going to be another tough one. I’m hoping I can recharge my batteries as much as I can because I’m going to need some power and energy for that one.”

As Djokovic rests, he will take some time to think about what he accomplished Friday evening. It’s not very often someone beats Nadal at Roland Garros in front of a raucous crowd. The Serbian said this match won’t soon slip from his memory bank.

“[It was] just one of these nights and matches that you will remember forever.”

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Nadal: 'I Had A Big Chance'

  • Posted: Jun 11, 2021

Rafael Nadal fell short in a memorable semi-final against Novak Djokovic on Friday evening at Roland Garros. Although disappointed to not continue his pursuit of a record 21st Grand Slam title, the 13-time champion understood that he simply lost to a better player on the day.

“That’s sport,” Nadal said. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I tried to give my best.”

Djokovic was unrelenting. Even still, the Spaniard had an opportunity to take a two-sets-to-one lead. The World No. 1 had missed a mid-court forehand when serving for the third set at 5-4, 30/0, and in a flash Nadal had a set point at 6-5. Nadal almost never lets slip those moments — that is how he entered this match 105-2 at Roland Garros.

But the Serbian answered the challenge with a daring backhand drop shot, and he won the ensuing tie-break, in which Nadal mishit an easy forehand volley long.

“I had a big chance with set point, 6-5, second serve [in the third set]. That’s it. Anything could happen in that moment,” Nadal said. “Then I made a double fault, [missed an] easy volley in the tie-break. But it’s true that [there were] crazy points out there. The fatigue is there, too. These kind of mistakes can happen.

“But if you want to win, you can’t make these mistakes. So that’s it. Well done for him. [It was] a good fight out there. I tried my best, and today was not my day.”

The Spaniard pointed to the changing conditions as the evening wore on. At the start of the match, when it was warmer, his heavy-topspin shots were bouncing high off the clay. But as the ball slowly began bouncing lower as the conditions got cooler, it made Djokovic’s shotmaking easier. Nadal refused to make that an excuse, though.

“[It] doesn’t matter. That’s tennis,” Nadal said. “The player who gets used to the conditions better is the player who deserves to win. So no doubt he deserved to win.”

Rafael Nadal

Nadal added that the accuracy of his shots was not good enough, which allowed Djokovic to maintain his court-positioning.

“[It] probably was not my best day out there. Even if I fought, [even if I] put a lot of effort, the position on the shots [were not] that effective tonight,” Nadal said. “Against a player like him who takes the ball early, you are not able to take him out of his positions, then it is very difficult.”

Despite the loss, Nadal was thankful for the support inside Court Philippe-Chatrier. Fans tried to urge him back into the match, and they were allowed to stay in the stadium for the entirety despite a curfew in France. The atmosphere was electric, the best since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[It was] amazing, the support. I can’t thank enough the feelings. I have been super tired some moments, but the crowd gave me some energy to keep going,” Nadal said. “It’s super emotional for me to feel the love of the people in the most important place of my tennis career, without a doubt. So thanks a lot to them.”

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Twitter Reacts: Nadal and Djokovic Play Out Classic

  • Posted: Jun 11, 2021

Novak Djokovic’s epic battle with Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros semi-finals began trending on Twitter long before the match ticked over the four-hour mark.

After 13-time champion Nadal won the opening set, Djokovic fought back to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 to set up a meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final.

Below are some of the tweets from prominent members of the tennis community engrossed in the match.

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Tsitsipas Vows To 'Leave My Entire Body On Court' In Final

  • Posted: Jun 11, 2021

Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed he was proud of how he handled his emotions in an ‘exhausting’ semi-final clash at Roland Garros on Friday, which saw the Greek defeat Alexander Zverev to reach his first Grand Slam final.

The fifth seed, who won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, will now play either 13-time champion Rafael Nadal or top seed Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

“It means a lot. It was a difficult match. It was a match full of emotions, full of so many different phases that I went through. So, in the end, it was just such a big relief I was able to close it in such a good way. It was just exhausting,” Tsitsipas admitted. “It was difficult to handle all of these things and put them together, kind of compromise on some others. I was able to deliver and close the match when I had to. I’m proud of myself.”

 

 

Tsitsipas had led by two sets before Zverev levelled up the match to force a decider. This resulted in the Greek, who has reached the semi-finals twice at the Australian Open (2019, 2021), refocusing again, as he saved three break points from 0/40 at the start of the fifth. Tsitsipas believed this was a crucial moment in the clash.

“I was trying to be in a good relationship with myself and get encouraged and push forward for something good to happen. I knew I was not done at that point, I had more to give. I was playing much better. All I had to do was put in the concentration,” Tsitsipas said.

“I’m someone who fights. I was not willing to give up yet. I think I did few things right that worked in my favour. I was still alive. I was still able to come back to the match. It was a breath of fresh air, that first game. I felt revitalized,” Tsitsipas admitted.

The 22-year-old has now recorded a Tour-leading 39 wins this year and is excited to be in Sunday’s final at a tournament which means a great deal to him.

Tsitsipas said: “Roland Garros has been a historical tournament. It has been an event that I’ve been watching since I was little. It has been my coach’s favourite tournament. I grew up with him. It’s a tournament that we always followed, we always watched. I was mostly being emotional for putting myself in that position. I was kind of being emotional for him. He’s back in Greece now, in Athens. I’m pretty sure he’s very proud of me so far.

“I’m looking forward to leaving my entire body on the court in the final. It’s time for me to show that I’m capable of playing either Nadal or Djokovic, who has also done well a few times here. I’m looking forward to bring my game to kind of challenge myself to step it up.”

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