How Could It Be? Novak Djokovic Defeats Rafael Nadal at 2021 French Open.
How Could It Be?
How Could It Be that Rafael Nadal, now 35-years-old, and Novak Djokovic, now 34-years-old, have just produced one of the most epic tennis matches of all-time? Aren’t these the Senior Citizens of the ATP Tour?
We saw it in 2018 at Wimbledon. We saw in 2013 at the French Open. We saw it in 2012 in Australia. We saw it in 2011 at the US Open. We saw it in 2007 in Miami.
In 2030, will I be writing the same line? “We saw it in 2021.”
How Could It Be that two men who have won so much against so many different opponents can summon the mental and physical fortitude to battle for 4 hours and 11 minutes in the sport’s most demanding arena? The third set alone lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes.
How Could It Be that seemingly every rally pushed each player to explore the geometrical possibilities of the tennis court to the nth degree? The variation of angles, heights, spins, and speeds provided the viewer with a complete optical exercise, enhanced the by the limb-stretching movements both men displayed to reach every single ball.
How Could It Be that Nadal was worn out by the end of the match? Is father time catching up to him physically in these types of matches? The passing of time will be the true measure of this.
How Could It Be that less than one year after a global pandemic eliminated tennis’ most prestigious tournament did we receive a legendary match with the two best players in the world in front of a packed Parisian crowd? Reflecting back on today’s match, it didn’t seem real at times, given where our sport and planet has been over the last year.
How Could It Be that the winner of the match was down 5-0 in the first set, after having lost to the same opponent in the first set 6-0 the previous year?
How Could It Be that the winner of the match lost the first set, when the winner of the first set had won the last 15 matches in this rivalry and 50 of the 57 matches overall?
How Could It Be that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic could all enter this US Open’s with 20 grand slams in addition to Djokovic having a shot at achieving the calendar year grand slam?
How Could It Be?
We are truly lucky for what we witnessed today. Thank you Novak and Rafa.