World News – UA – Rafael Nadal Routs Novak Djokovic at Roland-Garros for 20th Grand Slam singles title

Rafael Nadal won a 20th Grand Slam men’s singles championship to equal Roger Federer’s record It was Nadal’s 13th title at Roland Garros

« Clearly today was for me, » said Rafael Nadal, winking at his long back-and-forth rivalry with Novak Djokovic. « It’s part of the game »

Nadal did a surprisingly quick job on them both in the Roland Garros final, annihilating the non-world 1 player Djokovic, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to tie Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles

It was arguably Nadal’s finest performance at Roland Garros, which is quite a statement given that he had already won 12 Grand Slam singles titles on the same red clay rectangle

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There was nothing unlucky about No 13 He was on task and on target from the start against Djokovic, snatching the winners from groundstrokes, performing groundstrokes and keeping his direct mistakes in the game. bare minimum He only made two in the first set, leaving Djokovic with little time or space to find his lineup

Djokovic, the 2016 Roland Garros champion, is one of only two men to beat Nadal at Roland Garros He had beaten Nadal in their last three Grand Slam finals against each other

The most recent of these took place at the 2019 Australian Open, where Djokovic overtook Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in what Djokovic still maintains as the best performance of his career Nadal could only pursuit his lips, shake his head and say « too good »

But this rout took place on hard ground, Djokovic’s best surface, in the major tournament he won most often Sunday’s recovery came to Nadal’s kingdom

“Sorry for today,” Nadal told Djokovic in his remarks after the victory “In Australia he killed me Clearly today was for me It’s part of the game We played many times together « 

It was not a Roland Garros like any other, however It was moved from spring to fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in cooler temperatures which returned the forehand from Nadal less lively than in the past Crowds were limited to just 1,000 paid spectators per day at Roland Garros

It was also the first Roland Garros to be played with a retractable roof and lights, which meant Nadal had to win his quarter-final match against Jannik Sinner well after midnight Due to the rain on Sunday afternoon, the final was played with the roof closed – a first in the history of the tournament, which was first played at Roland Garros in 1928

That’s a lot of changes to make for a champion like Nadal, who thrives on routine but he has managed to keep the tradition going by extending his reign and ending his losing streak against Djokovic

« Everyone knows this court is the most important court of my tennis career, » Nadal said, before taking on a darker tone.

« We are in very difficult circumstances, » he said with a mask on his face « In some ways it’s not that happy because we can’t celebrate the tournament in a normal way »

He added: “I really hope that in a few months when we are back here, hopefully in June we can celebrate this amazing, new and beautiful stadium with a full crowd. »

Nadal and Djokovic have faced each other 56 times: more than any other man have faced each other on tour in the era of the Open Djokovic leads by the narrow margin of 29-27

« Today you showed why you are the king of clay, » Djokovic said at the award ceremony « I lived it in my own skin It was a very difficult game I’m obviously not very happy with the way I play, but I was definitely outplayed by a better player today »

Nadal, 34, has not lost a set in seven matches, and Sunday’s victory was his 100th in a match at Roland Garros. It certainly would have been the number of the day without Federer’s record

Nadal and Federer have been friendly rivals for over a decade, playing some of the most memorable matches in the game’s long history, including their classic 2008 Wimbledon final, which Nadal won in five sets

But Federer, 39, is almost five years older than Nadal and has always been ahead of him in the Grand Slam pursuit until Sunday

The Grand Slam singles record became the most important benchmark in the game during this era with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic dominating the men’s game and pushing each other to improve their games and extend their careers

« I have always had the greatest respect for my friend Rafa as a person and as a champion, » Federer said on Twitter shortly after Sunday’s final “As my biggest rival for many years, I think we pushed ourselves to be better players »

Federer called winning the Coupe de France 13 times « one of the greatest sporting achievements » He added: « I hope 20 is just another step on the continued path for both of us. Well done, Rafa You deserve it « 

Nadal’s 20th title will deepen the discussion of who deserves to be considered the greatest male player of the Open era and perhaps even in the history of the sport (although it is a much more difficult comparison to do)

« Today I am not thinking of the 20 », he said « Today for me it is only a victory at Roland Garros Roland Garros means everything to me I spent the most moments here. important or most of the most important moments of my tennis career No doubt about it « 

Djokovic’s emotional engagement in this match has grown steadily, as has his willingness to take risks

On serve at 4-4, at a stopping point, Djokovic shot a brave 116 mph second serve on Nadal’s backhand, his second fastest serve of the game

Djokovic held two points later, moving into a single match to win the third set and turn this rout into a battle of good faith

Djokovic, long regarded as the sport’s best returner, finally broke Nadal’s serve in his 10th second leg of the game, tying the third set at 3-3

Djokovic got help from Nadal, who missed five of the game’s first eight serves but also asserted himself with more focused play, including a backhand winner to seal the break

Djokovic sparked some excitement after the break – he was relatively contained throughout this match

Djokovic took a 4-3 lead a game later, after a good serve at the net and a short comeback with a short volley

After maintaining his serve three times in a row, Djokovic discouragedly abandoned his serve in Game 5 of the third set, hitting three unforced errors to allow Nadal to break to love and extend his lead to 6-0 , 6-2, 3-2

Nadal is now three games away from his 13th Grand Slam title He faced just three break points in the entire game – all three in Game 4 of the first set Nadal has always won this game

Djokovic had been off duty at least six times in each of his previous wins at this year’s French Open; he is still looking for his first today

Djokovic got off to a positive start in the third set with a catch, just his third game of the game And after maintaining his serve in his last service game of the second set, it scored two consecutive serves catches – no Usually a feat worth celebrating for a top tier player, but that’s the kind of day it’s been for Djokovic

After holding on, Nadal got a break point chance in Djokovic’s second service match of the third set, but unusually missed one backhand then missed another on Djokovic’s game point

Having been the much more precise player from the start, Nadal has already committed four unforced errors in this third set.It’s usually not a big deal, but he only hit six unforced errors in the first two combined sets

The world’s best tennis player, in a year he finishes the year at No 1, earns no more than 55% of the points he plays Dominance in tennis is much more subtle than most people don’t think so

But there is nothing subtle in what Nadal does to Djokovic In the first two sets Nadal won 66 points against 44 for Djokovic In the second set it was 34-25 That’s about nearly as dominant as a player can be, especially against the best player in the world

Djokovic had a plan – using a backhand shot on Nadal’s backhand Nadal knew it was going to happen and he’s playing that way

Like Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they slap themselves in the mouth Nadal hit Djokovic in the mouth Does Djokovic have a plan B?

The drop shot has been one of Djokovic’s main weapons during this French Open – a wise choice based on the heavy and low rebound conditions of October

He hit over 140 as the final approached and didn’t deviate from that shot against Nadal But he had only limited success

He hit a handful of winners but has also seen plenty of disappointments Nadal has so far covered the shot effectively, hitting several winners, including two clean sliced ​​backhand winners that left Djokovic shaking his head

But then there was a lot of head shaking in those first two sets, and Nadal is one set to end it

French chair umpire Damien Dumusois has already climbed down from his perch several times to check ball marks to determine if shots were inside or outside This is the long-standing tradition at Roland Garros and at all clay court events

But the change could be underway The FoxTenn electronic line judging system was tested at the Rio Open earlier this year and was expected to be used at the Mutua Madrid Open before that tournament was canceled The French Open has negotiated with FoxTenn in the past without taking the plunge

For now, the sport has been left in an imperfect place with chair umpires still examining ball marks and making final calls while TV networks, like NBC and Tennis Channel, use reruns of Hawk-Eye to verify chair umpires, although the Hawk-Eye system is not yet approved for official clay court use

Djokovic entered the field by winning the first game of the second set, but he still falls short for Nadal’s consistency In nine games, Djokovic committed 21 unforced errors, against only three for Nadal

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Djokovic saved two break points – the first by hitting each sideline on consecutive shots and the second with a cross backhand that landed behind Nadal

It goes without saying that Nadal crushes Djokovic’s spirit by dominating his serve, but the problem may have more to do with Djokovic than with Nadal

Throughout the tournament, Nadal continued to receive serves from far behind the baseline, even as other players crept closer to the pitch to take advantage of the slower, heavier ball.

The way to punish an opponent who stands so far back is to send them a wide serve, so that they are in a terrible position to get into the point after the comeback But Djokovic’s serve, especially his second serve, doesn’t come close to the lines, giving Nadal a chance to play on the ball and go from defense to attack early in the point.

This is how you only get 10 of 22 points on first serve and seven of 16 on second serve in four service games

An extraordinary start for Nadal becomes more extraordinary as he saves two break points on his serve to hold, then beats Djokovic for the third time in the set, this time 40-0

Nadal’s hitting the ball is crisp, his movement remarkable and his judgment almost flawless at this early stage

With his 5-0 lead, Djokovic shook his head and puffed up his cheeks even after winning points The pressure is intense and much of his playbook is in tatters, including his heavy addiction to the regarding the drop shot

Djokovic had never lost a 6-0 set in the Grand Slam final During the break, several fans serenaded him in Serbian, hoping to pick him up for the second set

The only place Nadal has not been successful at the start is at the net, winning just three of eight points so far when advancing on the pitch He also won only seven of the 15 rallies that extended to nine or more strokes.

Nadal shed first blood in this Roland Garros final, beating Djokovic in the opener of the game Djokovic showed a heavy reliance on his shot in the first game, hitting them early in rallies with success mixed as Nadal rushed for an opening break

Djokovic then drew 40-15 tied in Nadal’s next service game, but Nadal consolidated the break with a catch

Nadal bolstered his lead with a double break a match later, climbing 3-0 as Djokovic’s cross backhand hit the net at Nadal’s second breaking point of the match

With some rainy weather, the roof of the Phillipe Chatrier court is closed for the men’s final.There are so few fans that the rain can be heard pounding the roof

According to Roland-Garros policy, a match that begins with a closed roof must continue with a closed roof, even if the weather is nice outside

This makes it the first Roland-Garros final to be played indoors. But is it really inside?

The new roof is more of a canopy, allowing outside air to circulate inside and having little effect on the temperature.But this has two big effects: reducing the wind and eliminating the shadows that have been a problem to players in late afternoon games on these unusual October dates (shadows would not be present at the same time and place if the tournament was held in its normal May and June window)

The lack of wind should help Djokovic, whose flatter shots have less margin for error than Nadal’s, and he also relied heavily on the drop shot in this tournament.

But it’s still red clay at Roland Garros, where Nadal’s record is unmatched: 99-2

Usually held in late May and early June with tens of thousands of fans in attendance every day, the French Open took an aggressive decision in mid-March to postpone until late September and early October, unilaterally claiming a place in the tennis calendar without consulting other tennis governing bodies

This bold move paid off, as the tournament was able to run, but not at full strength Organizers initially hoped to have as many as 11,500 paying fans each day, but public health protocols ultimately reduced that number to 1000

The matches at Roland Garros had more atmosphere than those at the US Open, which was completely closed to paying spectators, but there are still over 10,000 seats empty inside the Philippe Chatrier court

Fans inside the arena wore masks during matches, although they were usually grouped together in the main seats, rather than taking advantage of the considerable elbow room available elsewhere. pandemic in Paris tightened during the tournament, including cafe and restaurant closures, but the tournament continued

The men’s tennis tour will return to Paris later this month for the Paris Indoors Masters event, which kicks off on October 31

Roland-Garros Final, Nadal vs Djokovic