Matches of the Year: No. 8 – Nadal vs. Djokovic, Montreal

The Grandstand presents its 2013 Matches of the Year, continuing with No. 8. This installment of the Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic came in the rare setting of a Masters 1000 semifinal. It went the ultimate distance and did not end before a memorable incident took place. Ricky Dimon and Hasan Murad recap the match.

Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) – Montreal semifinals

The early stages of Nadal’s 2013 comeback included a surprising hard-court title in Indian Wells. But was it a fluke? In order to prove otherwise by backing it up at the Rogers Cup, the Spaniard would have to bounce back from a shocking exit in his most recent tournament—a straight-set loss to Steve Darcis in the Wimbledon first round. Having beaten Djokovic zero times on a hard court since November of 2010 (a stretch of four straight losses on the surface), Nadal went into the Montreal semifinals as a clear underdog.

But this one was never going to be one-way traffic. Nadal’s aggressive court positioning and improved penetration on shots wreaked havoc with Djokovic’s rhythm early and often during the first set. The world No. 4 opened the match with a break and broke again for 5-2 on a double-fault by his opponent before closing it out at 5-4 on his second time of asking.

Having the gauntlet thrown down on him, Djokovic responded. Not surprisingly, the Serb refused to go away without a fight and instead fought back to level things at one set apiece. The tide turned almost out of nowhere when Nadal failed to maintain a 40-0 advantage at 3-4 and Djokovic surged past him to seize a decisive service break.

The final frame of play extracted the best out of both champions, as they left everything on the court. A whole new level of tension and drama was reached in the fifth game when Djokovic got thumped in the face by a Nadal backhand passing shot and he seemingly refused Nadal’s apology. Unfazed by the incident, both players exhibited their aggressive best and pushed each other to the limit to reach a tiebreaker. It proved, however, to be a ‘breaker not reminiscent of the match as a whole. Nadal’s immaculate ball-striking complemented by Djokovic’s uncharacteristically sloppy play led to a 7-2 blowout in favor of the fourth seed.

“It was a very close match,” Djokovic assessed. “There were very few points that decided the winner.”

“His level is always high and you have to play well—almost perfect—to beat him,” Nadal said of Djokovic.

Neither man was kidding. The total points count ended 97-95 in Nadal’s favor. In terms of quality ball-striking, this combat was one of their best in a long rivalry that now has extended to a whopping 39 matches.

Not only was this match great, but it was also important—and not for the singularity of sending Nadal into a Masters final and ultimately to a Masters title (he rolled over Milos Raonic one day later). In fact, one could argue that it was right up there with the Nadal-Djokovic French Open semifinal in terms of shaping the course of the remainder of 2013. With the victory, Nadal’s bubbling confidence grew to immeasurable heights and he used it as a springboard to sweeping the entire summer hard-court season, including the second U.S Open title of his career.

highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3wLq7oBTg4]

the hit:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI02H22bzRg]