The word 'revenge' is quite appropriate hereRafael Nadal lost to arch-rival Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open last year. After almost a year, these two greats met again last night. Doubts arose as to whether Nadal would return to form on the clay court after the injury. Doubts were raised about Nadal's performance in the previous round. Nadal, the 13-time French Open champion, had to play five sets to defeat Felix Aze-Aliasim, a young Canadian, in the fourth round. Those who have seen Nadal's game will understand how rare it is. Nadal played five sets in a match for the third time in 112 matches at the French Open.
With so much wood to burn to defeat Felix Aze-Aliasim, will Nadal, who is injured against Djokovic, pay any attention? The Spanish star broke all fears and brought out his best against a strong opponent. Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-6 (6-4) in the four-hour, 12-minute quarterfinals.
The match ended at 5 am Bangladesh time. After winning this match, the Spanish star reached the semifinals of the French Open for the 15th time in his career. Nadal will face German star Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. World number three Zverev lost to Spain's young Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (9/7).
This match was the 59th installment of the Djokovic-Nadal fight. Djokovic has won 30 of those 59 matches, and Nadal took his victory tally to 29 against the Serbian star yesterday. Nadal, the fifth-seeded French Open player, won the Australian Open earlier this year, beating Daniel Medvedev. Roger Federer and Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer and Djokovic to win the 21st Grand Slane of their careers.
Although Nadal could rule at the Australian Open, Djokovic's favorite tournament, Djokovic did not win the title at Nadal's favorite French Open, and not because of Nadal. Djokovic did not lose a single set on his way to the quarter-finals. But if Nadal is in clay-court form, those records have no value!
Nadal seemed a little emotional after losing to Djokovic. "I'm very emotional. For me, playing here is a very special event. Playing against him (Djokovic) is always a big challenge for me. The only way to win against Novak is to fight for every point from start to finish. "
At the end of the match, Djokovic also praised Nadal's unbeaten mentality, "Congratulations to Rafa. He played much better than me in the crucial moments of the match. Shows why he is a great champion. Good luck to him and his team, he deserves this victory. '
Meanwhile, Coco Goff of the United States won the women's singles quarterfinals. He will face Italy's Martina Trevisan in the semifinals.