It was all that everyone was looking for, and it sure lived up to the billing. Novak Djokovic got the better of the legendary Spaniard Rafael Nadal in two straight sets to seal a win in the second round of Tennis Men’s Singles on Monday.
The Serbian was methodical against the great Nadal, who was outclassed ultimately but engaged in an intense battle against the Serb before falling in two heated sets of 6-1, 6-4.
This was Djokovic and Nadal’s first meeting since the 2022 Roland Garros quarter-finals on the same court, where Nadal emerged victorious in four sets.
The pair faced off in the semi-finals of the Beijing Olympics, where Nadal triumphed in three sets and ultimately claimed the gold medal.
But this time around, facing off in the second round, Djokovic got off to a blazing start, pummeling Nadal game-after-game to take a 5-0 lead in the first set, before the Spaniard clinched one back. But, it was too little too late as the Serb wrapped up the first set in the next game.
More of the same tale entailed in the second set as well with Nadal struggling to find any breakthrough for the longest. Finally, after going down by four games in the second set, Nadal showed grit and heart to claw himself to a win, inspiring the onlookers to cheer for the legendary Spaniard.
And well, Nadal might have been down, but he sure was not out as he kept the fight going. A rejuvenated Nadal wouldn’t give in, taking it to the Serb and forcing him into errors, to ultimately pile the pressure by claiming the next two games as well as Djokovic’s lead dimininshed to just one game at 4-3.
And that is whwn Novak Djokovic strutted across court patiently, almost in a manner to let Nadal know that he had enough.
But, Nadal was in no position to squander his lead in the game, and ensued in a tremendous rally during the eight game of the set to seal the game and draw level with Djokovic at 4-4.
A fired-up Djokovic, now seemingly more amped, took all he had to his storied rival in a heated 9th game, where Djokovic triumphed with his 2nd break point, riling the crowd up.
Nadal fought hard to keep himself in the game, but ultimately fell in the following game, as Djokovic sealed his win.
With his win today, Djokovic adds one more scalp in their legendary rivalry where the Serb leads with 31 wins to Nadal’s 29.
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