They are two of the best tennis players in history and in Roland Garros quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic (1st ATP Ranking) and Rafael Nadal (5th) They starred in an epic match that had a separate chapter in one of the games of the second set, a partial that at one point seemed to have no end and lasted 18 minutes. The demand of both was such that neither gave the arm to twist and fought each ball as if it were the last.
To understand the magnitude of the duel between the Spaniard and the Serbian, it is the first between two tennis players with more than 1,000 official victories (Open Era/Men’s Singles). the czech Ivan Lendl He had 991 wins in his last match against the American Jimmy Conners at the 1992 US Open. Nadal has 21 Grand Slams and for now he is the record player in that item and surpasses his rival on Tuesday and the Swiss by only one Roger Federer (47 °), today outside the courts for a right knee injury.
The truth is that on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Nadal and Djokovic played a game that went blow by blow. Nadal broke from the start and overwhelmed Djokovic. But the Serbian reacted on time and played each point like a battle. He did not give up, he turned the second set around and his comeback began in the “eternal game”.
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A passage of the “eternal game” between Nole and Rafa
The game in that first game after 0-3 was a turning point in the match, as Nole responded and made it clear that his guard was up beyond Rafa’s superiority in the first set 6-2. . At the start of the second set, Nadal was back in front, but there the current number one appeared in all his splendor.
Nole trailed 3-0, but made it 3-3 with his second break in an 18-minute game, quite unusual for a game. The match itself is also spectacular, in the initial phase Djokovic had little to say against Rafael Nadal, who is usually the owner of the clay.
Although the Serb turned it around and broke Nadal in a sensational match and also managed to break again in a set that lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes, Djokovic came back from 0-3, 15-30 and won the second set against Nadal by 6-4.
The game was followed by the networks and the “eternal game” was one of the highest points in which the fans turned on to comment, especially on Twitter, and the topic went viral. “Request: every year a Nadal-Djokovic at Roland Garros. Last year was the best game of the year. And now they just played an 18-minute game,” wrote Martin Ortiz. “18 minutes of game, we are all crazy! Nadal and Djokovic, nothing more”, put Benja Sambueza. “18 minutes and 40 seconds. A game only between Djokovic and Nadal”, Sapo Torres posted with two emojis of astonishment.
What more can these two titans give in an endless duel. Their talent and ability is enhanced when they are face to face and that combative energy is contagious to the public that filled the venue (tickets sold out for the match) and that got drunk on tennis. It is that the greatness of the number one is not only magnified with statistics, but also with these performances of legends that will be remembered forever.
Both arrived at this Parisian night with a total of 58 meetings. Djokovic is up in the statistics for two duels, 30 to 28. Almost a technical tie. The parity is such that it shows why they are in the Olympus of the racket and the game they kept took tennis to another level.
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Source-www.infobae.com