“Not surprised” Novak Djokovic on Rafael Nadal being fully fit despite limping with injuries prior to the French Open
Follow Us
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Nadal making an exit in Rome after injuring his leg
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic‘s chances of making a successful title defence at the 2022 French Open came to an end in the quarter-finals of the tournament when he suffered a 4-set defeat at the hands of the 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. In their 59th court meeting, Nadal won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) in 4 hours and 17 minutes.
Coming into the match, both players had contrasting seasons up to their respective first-round matches. Nadal made a 20-0 start to his season while Novak saw his arch-nemesis win the 2022 Australian Open where the Serbian was the 3-time defending champion. Just before the start of the clay season, Nadal suffered a rib fracture and made a delayed start while Novak returned to being a Tour regular and gained momentum.
At the 2022 Rome Masters, where Nadal was the defending champion, the Spaniard crashed out in the third round while being in visible pain due to his old foot injury which flared up yet again. Novak on the other hand, went on to win the Rome Masters without dropping a set and continued his streak in the French Open as well with the first set of his clash with Nadal marking the first time he dropped a set in the Grand Slam. In this build-up, many expected Djokovic to cruise ahead but Nadal was relentless and earned his win against Novak.
“No, I’m not surprised at all. It’s not the first time that he, you know, is able to few days after he’s injured and barely walking to come out 100% physically fit. You know, he’s done it many times in his career, so I’m not surprised,” admitted Djokovic during his press conference after the defeat to Nadal.
Novak Djokovic discusses the crowd support for Rafael Nadal during their clash
With Nadal being the crowd favourite at the French Open for a long time now, it also resulted in the Serbian being booed on multiple occasions not only during this match but in earlier matches as well to which Djokovic answered boldly by clinching the wins in straight-sets. However, with Nadal, he could not repeat the feat and despite having served for the fourth set, he saw Nadal defend well to force the tiebreaker which he eventually won.
“I think the crowd contributed a lot to the turnaround in the fourth set. They were 99,9% by his side and they have lifted him up in crucial moments. They helped him to find his energy,” added Djokovic in his final press conference at this year’s Roland Garros.
Follow our page FirstSportz Tennis for the latest updates
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)