Tennis Prose




Jun/21

11

The Greatest Contest In The History Of Sport

You just watched the greatest contest in the history of sport, between the two best champions at their absolute very best.

Nadal came out on fire and stole the first two games and built a 5-0 lead before Djokovic refused to wilt like he did last year and fought back to 3-5 and could have gotten to 4-5 but a furious, desperate Nadal repelled him.

Again it was Nadal grunting and snarling in the first games like his life was on the line and Djokovic was too subdued like last year, too nonchalant to slay the all time most fearsome dragon the clay court has ever witnessed.

Second set Djokovic sprung to the lead and dominated the set. You could see the Djokovic patterns of battering the Nadal backhand corner was the prevailing strategy – IF he could sustain the level and the inevitable rallies and superhuman shots we knew Nadal was going to assault Djokovic with.

Djokovic earned the break in the third set and was in control but he squandered a 30-love lead in the 5-4 game and lost the game. You knew Nadal was going to provide fierce resistance. The magical level of tennis was heightened and finally in the tiebreaker Nadal missed a forehand volley in the open court to give Djokovic the 5-3 advantage which he utilized to win the crucial third set.

After the tournament announced they would not send fans home for the curfew, Nadal rallied back to a 2-0 lead in the fourth set. But you could sense a weariness about his demeanor, Djokovic had forced him to run and work excessively. It was Nadal who was perspiring heavily the whole match, much more than Djokovic. It was Nadal who showed flashes of self-doubt and frustration … his worst nightmare was coming true again … Novak Djokovic was at his very best again and showed no hints of being denied or defyed.

Djokovic, appearing much fresher and fleeter of foot, struck another gear and reeled off six games in a row to seize the fourth set, the match and a spot in the final on Sunday.

It was the greatest contest in the history of sport, I can’t think of another. McEnroe vs Borg at Wimbledon was epic but both Nadal and Djokovic have won more Grand Slams than both combined, actually Djokovic has 18, the total of Mac and Borg.

Ali vs Frazier? Not quite.

This was it. You saw the ulimate sporting pinnacle today.

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4 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 12, 2021 at 12:09 pm

    Krejcikova did it. Two years ago she was playing small itf tournaments in Florida, ranked outside top 100, playing the likes of Sanaz Marand and Whitney Osuigwe, now she’s winning Grand Slams in singles. You never know which players will suddenly take off and explode out of obscurity.

  • Sam · June 13, 2021 at 1:51 pm

    Scoop, I didn’t know the results of the semifinal between Djokovic and Nadal until about 15 minutes ago. I figured that Nadal probably just blew him away, so why bother?? Well, I just found out that he beat Nadal–and then won today’s final.

    Unbelievable!!! 😯

  • Sam · June 13, 2021 at 2:04 pm

    Just read this elsewhere:

    “[Djokovic] is the first man in the professional era to win a Grand Slam tournament after twice facing a 2-0 deficit in sets.”

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 13, 2021 at 9:55 pm

    Sam, Djokovic continues to smash the records books in so many different ways. And the scary part is the best may be yet to come.

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