Rafael Nadal breaks Borg record after toppling Novak Djokovic in Roland Garros final: Tennis Special
King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, conquered the world number one, Novak Djokovic, in a four-set rain-delayed thriller at the French Open 2012 on Monday. He formulated a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory against the Serbian ace, ultimately breaking Bjorn Borg’s record of holding most titles at this clay court Grand Slam event.
Seeded second in the tournament, Nadal, proved his class on his favourite surface after capturing his seventh Roland Garros title. He not only broke a tie with Borg for the most titles at this event but also extended his lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 19-14 against the Serbian top.
"For me it is a real honour. Borg is one of the greatest in history, one of the more charismatic players in history," Nadal was quoted in a post-match interview with John McEnroe. "The comparison with the great Bjorn is fantastic. He's always been very nice to me, so I have to say thanks."
The Spaniard further reflected, "For me, the important thing is to win Roland Garros even if it's the first, second, third, or seventh [time]. That's what makes me very happy. [I'm] very happy [with] the way that I played today, because I played much more aggressive."
The former world number one, Nadal, thundered into the Court Philippe Chatrier and jumped to a 3-0 with two breaks of serve. Despite levelling the scores at 3-3, he broke the Serb’s serve once again and got the upper hand. The Spaniard held his remaining serves and clicked the opener with a 6-4 win in almost an hour-long venture.
Second ranked Nadal kept his winning ways in the following set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Apart from losing his edge and trailing at 2-3, the ultra-fit Spaniard unleashed his skills and went on a four-game tear. He blocked one out of two breakpoints he came across and cashed in three out of five break chances to register a 6-3 success in 56 minutes.
Djokovic, who was bidding to become the first person to hold four Grand Slam titles consecutively, found his rhythm in the third set. He suffered the first blow in the second game and fell at 0-2. However, the Serbian star blasted barrage of groundstrokes to go on a six-game killing spree. He held his serve to love in the eighth game and sealed the set by winning six games to two.
The 25-year-old Serb continued displaying tremendous skills in the follow-up set and broke Nadal’s opening serve to take the initial lead. He then swiped his serve with love and jumped to a 2-0 lead. After Nadal held his serve for the first time in this set, rain interrupted the match, eventually postponing it to the proceeding day.
The following day, Nadal came out as better player as he re-gained his strength. He not only snatched his break back but took a 3-2 lead after holding his serve in the following game. The Manacor native held his remaining serves with conviction and got the breakthrough in the last game, subsequently pocketing the set with a 7-5 win in 70 minutes.
As a result, the left-handed Spaniard not only stole the show re-claimed his territory, proving the world that he is still the king on dirt.
He is now looking forward for his 12th Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships, a major grass court tournament held in London.
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