Rafael Nadal squeaks past Novak Djokovic to reach final – French Open 2013
King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, stunned the top seed, Novak Djokovic, in a five-set nail-biter at the Roland Garros 2013 on Friday. He notched up a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 victory against the Serbian ace to power into his French
Open final.
The former world number one, Nadal showed exceptional skills at the Court Philippe Chatrier. As a result, the Spaniard not only avenged his loss in the final of Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters earlier this year, but also improved the
FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series to 20-15 against the 26-year-old.
The Mallorcan was quoted in a post match presser, "It was a really emotional match. But both of us played for a lot of moments at a very high level. So these kind of matches make the sport big. I'm so happy with the way that I
played, and more than happy with the way that I fought in the fifth set after losing a big chance in the fourth. That's probably the most difficult thing to do, and I did it."
Nadal, who is bidding for his 12th Grand Slam title, made a comfortable entry at the Stade Roland Garros. He swiftly bagged his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the seventh game to pull out the opener with a
6-4 score line.
The Belgrade native failed to find his rhythm in the start of the following set. He suffered the first blow in the fifth game and fell at 2-3. However, Djokovic unleashed his barraged of winners after that and reeled off four games
to seal the set by winning six games to three.
The Spanish number one went berserk in the third set. He went on a five-game killing spree before Djokovic could hold on. Nadal plucked his serve once again and clinched the set with a breadstick.
In the fourth set, both players lifted their game. After exchanging two breaks, the set went to a tie-breaker. Djokovic cruised to a 4-1 lead in it before grabbing the equaliser with a 7-6(3) success.
The left-handed Spaniard lost his opening serve in the deciding set. However, he stayed focused and recovered in the eighth game. Nadal got the coveted break in the 16th game and clicked the decider with a 9-7 victory.
The world number one, Djokovic hammered 54 winners in contrast to the Spaniard’s 61 but spilled 75 unforced errors which made the difference.
Djokovic reflected after bowing out to the Spaniard, "It's been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment. I congratulate my opponent, because he showed the courage in the right moments...”
With this victory, Nadal will inch closer to become first person to capture eight titles at a Grand Slam event. He is currently 58-1 at this prestigious clay court event with his only defeat coming at the hands of Robin Soderling
in 2009.
Nadal will square off against his fourth seeded compatriot, David Ferrer. The world number five dumped the local number one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with a breadstick to set-up this epic final.
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