Tennis – Olympic Games – second round –
The last dance was Djokovic’s dance against Nadal. The Serbian beat the Spaniard 6-1 and 6-4 in the second round of the singles draw at the Games, on the central court in Paris. Nole was a whirlwind for most of the afternoon, until the eternal resistance of the Balearic player when defeat looms offered a denouement worthy of the clash between two myths. With 4-0 down in the second set, Nadal took advantage of the Serbian’s relaxation and got fully into the fight (4-4) before the unleashed passion of Philippe Chatrier, who rubbed her eyes at the recovery. Djokovic needed to step on the accelerator again to secure the victory and tip the direct duel even more in his favour: 31-29. The giants had not faced each other for two years, precisely on this clay, in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, when the Spaniard won in four sets on his way to another summit. The desire for that last waltz had pushed Nadal to push himself to the limit these days at 38 years old, after a tough week in Bastad, injured in his right thigh and with the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz ahead of him (they face the Dutch Griekspoor and Koolhof on Tuesday). Paris, Djokovic, Roland Garros, the Olympic Games… everything was worth it, and he would give it his all.
Before the war, they share a smile in front of the camera. It is only a second. Then each boxer runs to his corner of the ring. They barely give up another moment to greet the public until Djokovic starts his engine on serve. The Serbian flies in the first three points and the Spaniard reacts by increasing the risk in search of the lines. They are two old enemies who know each other well and have many lessons and scars from so many years face to face. Nole reaches the first break in the lead. The prolonged rally will not be an ally of Nadal on this occasion, more hurt in his body and less fresh in his legs and mind. The Balearic needs winning shots, terminal shots, a difficult recipe to cook because Nole is the man who responds to everything. The king of Paris searches in his repertoire of cross-court shots, but the Serbian druid knows how to change the pace, vary the rhythm of the exchange, interject a drop shot that hurts his rival. At the first opportunity he breaks the serve and begins to command the match with an iron fist.
Nadal doesn’t even come close to the next drop shot. He can defend himself on the lateral transfer, but when it comes to sprinting forward, accelerating from zero to 100, the scars of a punished physique can be seen. That’s when he throws away the explosiveness that he lost and that will never return. Djokovic repeats the play for 3-0. He knows how to do damage.
The mountain is too high for Nadal. This is no ordinary enemy. The centre court at Roland Garros reveals the weakness of the man who was once a titan and never stops embracing him. “Rafa is still the king!” cries one spectator. But down below, the game is what rules and Djokovic is merciless. He is the one who takes the initiative in most of the points, who decides where the match goes. Nole shakes the Balearic player from right to left, from back to front, and in the opposite direction. And he doesn’t miss a shot, accurate when he aims at the corner, as if instead of a racket he was holding a rifle with a scope. He doesn’t even need to be at his best. Nadal heads with a double fault. Nor does the white tape on the net console him in a tight shot. Only pride saves him from a bagel in a first set that Djokovic eats up in 39 minutes by 6-1.
In times of hardship, Nadal celebrates the break point saved. He tries to resist the exchange a little longer, but the ball weighs too much on that side and crashes into the net. Djokovic screws himself into the axis of his court and directs the operations from there. Left, right, left, right… The point falls by inertia, when the Spaniard runs out of oxygen in the middle of the battle. For a few moments Nadal feels in his flesh the sensation of inferiority that those who crossed his sandy path suffered for so many summers. To a shot at the crossbar of the Spaniard, the Serbian responds by stretching his springs and sending a low missile to an impossible corner. Defenseless, Nadal applauds the genius.
Djokovic might have conceded a truce earlier, such was his superiority against another rival. It is not a good deal against Nadal because since they first faced each other 18 years ago he knows that he will never stop fighting. And so he continues, although with just the right amount of effort, because he does not need more. It is Djokovic at idle, at half throttle, without breaking a sweat. Rarely has such a vulnerable version of Nadal been seen. Only when the bank is close, with 4-1 and serve, about to finish off, does Djokovic ease up for a few seconds, misses a couple of shots, commits a double fault, becomes confident, and Nadal says to wait, that he is not dead yet, that in any case they will have to kill him. Chatrier reacts, dozing under the sun and the Balearic player burns his cartridges. It is now or never. He is the champion of 14 musketeers cups. Suddenly he regains his energy and connects several right hands close to the lines. He even looks cool in the head when he comes up with a drop shot in the middle of the cannon shots. “Rafa! Rafa!” is the cry.
No one can explain it. He was exhausted! He looked like an adult against a child! How on earth did this 38-year-old go from 4-0 to 4-4 and serve? Surely there is only one answer: because it is Rafael Nadal, the indestructible one. Djokovic has opened the door, the one he knew he had to slam shut. A devourer sneaks in through there, someone who plays with his soul. And he comes back from 15-40, again dominating from the back of the court, resisting Nole’s push, and only gives up his serve when Nole calls him to the net. Another would have given in to his fate, wishing for this burning suffering to end, but Nadal rows and rows until the light goes out. If that was the last dance against Djokovic at Roland Garros, he honored it until his last breath.
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