Revisiting 2012 rivalries: Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic – Tennis Special
Serbian number one, Novak Djokovic, had the most successful reign in the year 2011, as he bagged away the world number one spot.
He maintained his superb performance for most of the tournaments securing all the three Grand Slam titles but suffered six losses at the hands of the Spaniard contender, Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard challenger has ruled over the clay courts since the past six years, as no challenger is powerful enough to outmuscle him. In the start of the 2012 season, the two top class champions contested against one another in the final round of the Australian
Open and the match without a doubt became the most exciting match of the season.
The 25-year-old Serbian sustained his winning momentum and waged the longest battle to consolidate his straight sets win, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in 5 hours and 53 minutes.
Previously, in the semi-finals, Djokovic penned down his win against the British number one, Andy Murray, in nearly 4 hours and 50 minutes.
The duo faced each other in the clay courts of Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters for the eighth time in their careers. The king of clay thundered across with powerful hits at an outstanding pace. He avenged his previous loss by collecting a straight sets win 6-3,
6-1. The 26-year-old champion preserved his lead in the final round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia held at courts of Rome, jolting down his 7-5, 6-3 triumph.
Talking to the media Djokovic said, “He is always the favourite, even if I win against him seven times; he is the best player in the world on this surface.”
In response to this Nadal commented, “It's very important to break that situation. Especially [this] tournament. [Breaking] that situation [and] winning a Masters 1000, one of my favourites, [makes] everything perfect today.”
The Serbian professional faced his rival on the clay courts of the rain delayed Roland Garros final. Despite of Djokovic’s endless struggle, he was unable to contest forward. The Spaniard consolidated his triumph 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
In a post match interview, Nadal said, “For me, it is a real emotional day, winning another time here,” said Nadal. “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 world number four, Nadal, was plagued with an unexpected knee injury in the second round of the green grass courts of the Wimbledon Championships. This indisputably served for the Serbian advantage, as he still stands amongst all his opponents. Nonetheless,
Nadal’s 2013 campaign is a treat to Djokovic’s world number one rank.
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