WATCH: ‘Never too old’ Twitter goes crazy as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal indulge in an epic 18-minute long game
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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are played for a record 59th time against each other in the quarterfinal of the 2022 French Open. While Nadal is undoubtedly the greatest clay-court player of all time, all the odds were against him this time. There were question marks about his fitness levels coming into the French Open and neither was he in good form. For the first time in years, he was aiming to win the French Open without a clay-court title under his bag for the season.
But as he has done time and again in his career, Nadal shocked everyone with his level to start the proceedings. He was landing his first serve brilliantly in place and was standing charge in most baseline exchanges. He was even dictating the pace of the rallies and frustrated Djokovic by keeping his game clean. With a double break’s advantage, he won the first set convincingly 6-2.
Nadal looked well in control of things in the second set too. He broke Djokovic’s upfront and nailed the coffin by breaking him once again to take a 3-0 lead. But the World No.1 wasn’t done yet. He showed his class and clutch mentality to come back in the match and got one break back.
He then consolidated that break to hold serve and what followed was one of the most intense games of the tournament. The two legends fought over a game for 18 minutes before Djokovic eventually broke Nadal to level things up.
Twitter reacts to Novak Djokovic’s incredible fightback
Djokovic had all the momentum shifted on his side and wasn’t going to let things slip away. He broke Nadal one more time to win the second set 6-4 to level things up. Naturally, fans on social media lauded Djokovic’s epic comeback.
Also Read: “May the best player win”- Novak Djokovic all set for an intense ‘physical battle’ with Rafael Nadal
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)