When was the last time Rafael Nadal entered the French Open with an air of uncertainty around his first-round victory, no matter the form and ranking of his opponent (which, in this case, is world No. 4 Italian Open champion Alexander Zverev)? When was the last time Novak Djokovic entered any Grand Slam with his aura of indomitability breached to the extent that it has brought him down to among the pack of contenders rather than a potentially title-winning ace?
Not in the last few years at the Slams he was allowed to set foot in.
The two ageing giants, with 46 Grand Slam triumphs between them yet zero titles this season, find themselves with an unfamiliar tag in this Parisian summer — far from the favourites for the French Open. Which, for a 14-time Roland Garros champion who has held an unshakable grip on the clay-court Slam he first won in 2005 and lost just three matches in, is unheard-of. Which, for the record 24-time Slam champion who has won three of the previous five majors besides reaching a final and a semi-final, is unwonted.
We’ll get to Nadal first, because this may well be his last sighting at the French Open. The 37-year-old hasn’t explicitly conveyed it yet, but everything he has done this season, which he’d said could be his last on the tour, has a farewell ring to it. Swansong or not, things haven’t gone per script for the Spaniard. Out injured for most of 2023 and the first three months of 2024 due to a muscle injury post his return, Nadal threw all his eggs in the clay basket.
Barcelona (second round exit) was an early gentle tester, Madrid (Round of 16) was a slightly more feel-good outing but Rome, where he was given a three-set scare by unheralded Zizou Bergs before a straight-sets hiding by 8th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, was a wake-up call. One that confined him to the reality that his current physical shape and level of play, though good enough to still test the best on clay, isn’t nearly enough to trouble them.
It made Nadal doubt whether turning up for the French Open, a tournament he’s played every year since 2005 except the last, was even worth it. “If I feel ready, I’m going to try to be there and fight for the things that I have been fighting the last 15 years; (even) if now (it) seems impossible,” he said in Rome.
Nadal will have to summon every bit of that fight while taking on Rome champion Zverev first up in a brutal draw for the bruised beast. If not, the fourth (and likely final) defeat on the red dirt of Paris could bring a speedy end to a surreal record that may last for an eternity.
Djokovic’s 24 majors tally too will stand the test of time, although times right now are shaky for the Serb. Not in six years, since his injury-hit 2018 season, has Djokovic entered the French Open without a title to his name in the season. If the Australian Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner was hard to take, the subsequent shock losses to 123rd-ranked Lucas Nardi (Indian Wells) and 32nd-ranked Alejandro Tabilo (Rome) were hard to explain.
There’s been an abrupt and alarming drop in the world No. 1’s form, taking down his coach Goran Ivanisevic and fitness trainer along with it as Djokovic desperately searches for a spark to light things up again.
He celebrated his 37th birthday on Wednesday playing (and winning) at the Geneva Open, a rare instance of Djokovic competing the week before a Slam. “I need more matches, even if it’s just one or two…I hope there are more,” he said.
Come the French Open, he’d hope for the same.
Source: HT
Tag: Nadal
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Nadal, Djokovic and an unfamiliar tag at the French Open
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Djokovic fights off Berrettini to set up Nadal semi-final
Paris (TIP): A fired-up Novak Djokovic repelled a stirring fightback by Italian Matteo Berrettini to claim a 6-3 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5 victory on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final showdown with defending champion Rafael Nadal.
The 34-year-old bellowed a series of frightening roars after completing a victory that at one stage looked like a formality but became increasingly fraught as Berrettini threw the kitchen sink at the Serb who becomes only the second man to reach 40 Grand Slam semi-finals after Roger Federer.
It was a spectacular conclusion to a match that was watched by 5,000 fans until midway through the fourth set when Paris’s Covid-19 curfew meant the crowd were obliged to leave. Djokovic led 3-2 at the time and when battle resumed he suffered a nasty fall, grazing his hand, but sensed his chance when Berrettini served at 5-6.
The Italian ninth seed, saved a couple of match points, the second with a sizzling forehand winner, after which Djokovic screamed angrily at his entourage and kicked an advertising board in disgust. He got the job done at the third time of asking when Berrettini netted at the end of another high-octane baseline exchange. Djokovic, eyes bulging, then roared again towards his box, the sound echoing around an empty Court Philippe Chatrier.
It was a manic ending and showed exactly how much Djokovic wants a second French Open title, having claimed his first in 2016 to complete his career Slam. Since then, Nadal has been unbeatable on the Parisian dirt, extending his record total to 13 titles and counting, the last coming last October when he thrashed Djokovic in the final.
Djokovic said booking another clash with Nadal had not been behind his extraordinary reaction at the end. “This match had it all: falls, crowd, break,” he told reporters. “It was a lot of intensity. I just felt under tension the entire time and missed some chances to end it in three. “It was just super, super stressful to constantly be under pressure… the reaction in the end was just me liberating that tension that was building up for the entire match.”
Top seed Djokovic was given a mighty scare against Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti on Monday, losing the first two sets, before steamrolling to victory. It was much more straightforward, initially, against Berrettini as he broke for a 3-1 lead in the first set.