The Dark Knight
Legend
Rafael Nadal secures immortality with French Open semifinal win; Serena Williams seeks to join him
The final in all but name.
The semifinal match Friday between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lived up to its unofficial designation. It was more interesting to watch -- and more meaningful, tennis history-wise -- than the epic Australian Open final the two men contested in January 2012.
This was Djokovic's best chance at grabbing a unique place in tennis' hall of greatness. Sooner or later, Nadal will fall from Roland Garros' mountaintop. The question always has been, Will age and/or injury bring him down -- or will a better player do it?
It looks like it's going to be age or injury. Nadal is now 27 years old and has well-documented knee problems. Advancing years, along with wear and tear, will feature in the discussion of any defeat the Spaniard suffers on Court Philippe Chatrier in the years ahead. Future tennis scholars will have a hard time writing revisionist versions of the superlative-laden history Rafa is writing in the clay right now.
No one -- not even Bjorn Borg at the French Open 35 years ago -- has dominated a major like Nadal at Roland Garros.
The Italian Adriano Panatta proved he could own Borg at the French Open, beating him in two of their three meetings in Paris, including the rubber match. (Watch highlights of that last Borg-Panatta FO tilt below.)
For a while, it looked like Djokovic would play the same spoiler role for Nadal. He's beaten him at the prized clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome, but he's now 0-5 against Rafa at the French Open, the only clay-court event that still employs the best-of-five-sets format.
On Friday Nadal needed every one of the sets allowed.
Coming out of the gate, Rafa looked primed to quickly sweep aside the man who, with apologies to Roger Federer, has proved to be the greatest challenger to his clay-court throne. He was full of energy and confidence: he zapped across the court like a lightning bolt, repeatedly tracking down and returning shots that Djokovic thought were point-enders. He was snapping his corkscrew forehand with brio, too, forcing the Serbian to lurch at the ball or, worse, to back up.
Nole tried to use his down-the-line backhand to break Nadal's forehand-stroking rhythm, but even though he's got two fists on the racquet, he couldn't do it. Rafa's forehand is so heavy, and it comes with so much sidespin, that Djokovic often ended up shoveling at the ball. The resulting shot would inevitably land closer to the middle of the court than the sideline and lack the necessary get-up-and-go to cause Nadal problems.
After a lapse in the second set, Nadal really took flight, at times making Djokovic appear as ineffectual and out-of-his-depth as Stanislas Wawrinka looked in the quarterfinals while losing his tenth consecutive match to Nadal. But then Nadal served for the match.
That's when the real Djokovic reared up. Has there ever been anyone who's played better with his back against the wall than Novak Djokovic? Not Borg. Not Jimmy Connors or even Federer. The Serb's back-from-the-dead performances against Federer at the 2011 U.S. Open and against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at last year's French Open have sunk in. Surely Nadal was thinking about them, about how Djokovic would only play more fearlessly now that he was just a few points from losing.
Djokovic broke Nadal, won the tiebreaker and took an early break lead in the fifth set. He was now matching Nadal forehand for forehand, and hitting the kind of gut-busting service returns for which he's become famous. But unlike so many others who have faced Nole in his vicious comeback mode, Nadal did not waver -- not at Roland Garros, where he is the seven-time and defending champion.
"I was ready for the fight," Nadal said after the match. "I really fought a lot."
That he did and earned a 9-7 fifth-set victory, one that has secured his title forevermore as the undisputed clay-court champion.
Despite this memorable battle between the two best players in the world, the tournament still insists on holding a formal championship match. Nadal will face fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who at 31 has reached his first-ever major final after an impressive drubbing of Tsonga in the other semifinal.
If Ferrer finds a way to beat Nadal on Sunday, it would be the biggest Grand Slam championship-match upset of the Open Era. Bigger than the aging Arthur Ashe beating the supposedly unbeatable Jimmy Connors at the 1975 Wimbledon with a clever mixture of big serves and soft, short groundstrokes down the middle. Bigger than the unknown 17-year-old Mats Wilander outrunning and outmoonballing veteran rally king Guillermo Vilas at the 1982 French Open. Bigger than untested Juan Martin del Potro blasting flat, go-for-broke forehands to shock the great Federer at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Which is why it won't happen. Nadal never takes any opponent or match lightly. Ferrer should celebrate and enjoy his status as a major finalist now; it's a fantastic accomplishment for a consummate professional. He'll have a much harder time appreciating what he's done after the final is played.
The final in all but name.
The semifinal match Friday between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lived up to its unofficial designation. It was more interesting to watch -- and more meaningful, tennis history-wise -- than the epic Australian Open final the two men contested in January 2012.
This was Djokovic's best chance at grabbing a unique place in tennis' hall of greatness. Sooner or later, Nadal will fall from Roland Garros' mountaintop. The question always has been, Will age and/or injury bring him down -- or will a better player do it?
It looks like it's going to be age or injury. Nadal is now 27 years old and has well-documented knee problems. Advancing years, along with wear and tear, will feature in the discussion of any defeat the Spaniard suffers on Court Philippe Chatrier in the years ahead. Future tennis scholars will have a hard time writing revisionist versions of the superlative-laden history Rafa is writing in the clay right now.
No one -- not even Bjorn Borg at the French Open 35 years ago -- has dominated a major like Nadal at Roland Garros.
The Italian Adriano Panatta proved he could own Borg at the French Open, beating him in two of their three meetings in Paris, including the rubber match. (Watch highlights of that last Borg-Panatta FO tilt below.)
For a while, it looked like Djokovic would play the same spoiler role for Nadal. He's beaten him at the prized clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome, but he's now 0-5 against Rafa at the French Open, the only clay-court event that still employs the best-of-five-sets format.
On Friday Nadal needed every one of the sets allowed.
Coming out of the gate, Rafa looked primed to quickly sweep aside the man who, with apologies to Roger Federer, has proved to be the greatest challenger to his clay-court throne. He was full of energy and confidence: he zapped across the court like a lightning bolt, repeatedly tracking down and returning shots that Djokovic thought were point-enders. He was snapping his corkscrew forehand with brio, too, forcing the Serbian to lurch at the ball or, worse, to back up.
Nole tried to use his down-the-line backhand to break Nadal's forehand-stroking rhythm, but even though he's got two fists on the racquet, he couldn't do it. Rafa's forehand is so heavy, and it comes with so much sidespin, that Djokovic often ended up shoveling at the ball. The resulting shot would inevitably land closer to the middle of the court than the sideline and lack the necessary get-up-and-go to cause Nadal problems.
After a lapse in the second set, Nadal really took flight, at times making Djokovic appear as ineffectual and out-of-his-depth as Stanislas Wawrinka looked in the quarterfinals while losing his tenth consecutive match to Nadal. But then Nadal served for the match.
That's when the real Djokovic reared up. Has there ever been anyone who's played better with his back against the wall than Novak Djokovic? Not Borg. Not Jimmy Connors or even Federer. The Serb's back-from-the-dead performances against Federer at the 2011 U.S. Open and against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at last year's French Open have sunk in. Surely Nadal was thinking about them, about how Djokovic would only play more fearlessly now that he was just a few points from losing.
Djokovic broke Nadal, won the tiebreaker and took an early break lead in the fifth set. He was now matching Nadal forehand for forehand, and hitting the kind of gut-busting service returns for which he's become famous. But unlike so many others who have faced Nole in his vicious comeback mode, Nadal did not waver -- not at Roland Garros, where he is the seven-time and defending champion.
"I was ready for the fight," Nadal said after the match. "I really fought a lot."
That he did and earned a 9-7 fifth-set victory, one that has secured his title forevermore as the undisputed clay-court champion.
Despite this memorable battle between the two best players in the world, the tournament still insists on holding a formal championship match. Nadal will face fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who at 31 has reached his first-ever major final after an impressive drubbing of Tsonga in the other semifinal.
If Ferrer finds a way to beat Nadal on Sunday, it would be the biggest Grand Slam championship-match upset of the Open Era. Bigger than the aging Arthur Ashe beating the supposedly unbeatable Jimmy Connors at the 1975 Wimbledon with a clever mixture of big serves and soft, short groundstrokes down the middle. Bigger than the unknown 17-year-old Mats Wilander outrunning and outmoonballing veteran rally king Guillermo Vilas at the 1982 French Open. Bigger than untested Juan Martin del Potro blasting flat, go-for-broke forehands to shock the great Federer at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Which is why it won't happen. Nadal never takes any opponent or match lightly. Ferrer should celebrate and enjoy his status as a major finalist now; it's a fantastic accomplishment for a consummate professional. He'll have a much harder time appreciating what he's done after the final is played.
