Dylan Bettencourt
Form is not a factor when the opponent in front of you is the King of Clay as Novak Djokovic found out during the match with Rafael Nadal.
The clash between the two tennis giants, which was for more than a spot in the semi-final of the French Open, has ended in triumph for Nadal who makes it into the final four of the competition for the 15th time with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory over the Serbian.
The Spaniard was coming off a five-hour round of 16 fixture only a few days before but during the match against Djokovic, however, there was no evidence of fatigue.
Nadal and Djokovic showed the world why they are two of the best in the world as they played brilliant tennis.
There is no denying that Nadal is very comfortable on the clay court and that showed as he dominated the current number one ranked player in the later stages of the clash.
“Without a doubt Novak is one of the best players in history,” said Nadal.
“Playing against him is always an amazing challenge. We have a lot of history together, and today was another one.”
It was the 59th meeting between the pair with Nadal now moving to 29 wins against Djokovic’s 30.
Djokovic conceded after the match that he was second best.
“I’m proud of fighting and staying till the last shot. As I said, I lost to a better player today. I had my chances, didn’t use them and that’s it,” he said.
“After four hours of battle I have to accept defeat.”
Nadal has however suggested that this could be his final French Open as he battles with a chronic foot injury but he looks determined to end his run in the tournament on a high.
His challenge begins with a semi-final clash against third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Image source: @RolandGarros
