In an epic final, Novak Djokovic scraped past Rafael Nadal in a 5-set marathon that lasted almost 6 hours. Novak returned to his dominating ways after a lackluster fall-to-winter season (by his standards) and beat Rafa for the 7th (*gasp*) time in a row. This loss definitely stings but I am pleased that Rafa seemed to take a lot of positives in it. In Wimbledon, Rafa seemed to lose his ability to fight, apart from the 3rd set. In the US Open, he fought as hard as he could but mental demons still seemed to creep into his game in the form of a horrifically bad serve.
In the Australian Open, however, Rafa inched closer to figuring out Novak. He was down 2 sets to 1 and had three breakpoints in a row against his serve that could have left Novak serving for the match but he fought through that in spectacular fashion to win the game. In the 4th set tiebreak, he was down 3-5 before rallying to take the game and the set and even things up in the match. I had high hopes as he was a break up in the 5th set, but Novak just willed himself to the title. Hopefully, Rafa really did take a lot of positives from that loss (and wasn't just saying it in the interviews) and builds on it as the clay season comes in.
Nadal now holds the distinction of being the only male player in the open era to lose 3 Grand Slam finals in a row, but it also means he has made it to the finals of the last 4 Grand Slam events. As such, Rafa clearly stamps his authority over the rest of the field. Here's hoping he can finally find a way to beat Novak Djokovic the next time they play against each other.
******
That semifinal win against Roger Federer featured some spectacular shot-making. None moreso than this gem of a crosscourt forehand pass. Amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment