Novak Djokovic Defeats Rafael Nadal At French Open

Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic, whose victory in Southern California this spring was covered on LA Sports HUB, made history Wednesday in defeating Rafael Nadal for the first time at the French Open in Paris.  The top-seeded Djokovic dismissed nine-time and defending champion Nadal in straight sets: 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.

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The victory was a historic one for Djokovic as in his storied career Nadal is 70-1 at Roland Garros.  The number itself has to be put in perspective; the most grueling tournament in tennis and he has won essentially every year he has competed.  Neither Federer, Djokovic, Sampras, or any other great has had such consecutive success at any Grand Slam.  The last time that Nadal was defeated was in 2009 against Röbin Soderling.  Then unheralded Soderling shocked Nadal and went on to the final where he fell to Roger Federer.

Djokovic has now won 27 straight matches.

With so much riding on the line for both players, it was Djokovic who played superb tennis.  The Serb took control of the match early, jumping out to a four games to love lead on the defending champion.  In true Nadal fashion though, the “King of Clay” responded in bringing the set even.  Despite the surge, Djokovic survived to win the set 7-5.

It was in the second set that the game saw a real turning point.  Ahead 4-3, Djokovic won a crucial game to break Nadal’s serve and jump two games ahead.  Djokovic served out the set in order to take a two-set to love lead, the first time in the Spaniard’s entire career at Roland Garros that he has ever fallen that far behind to start a match.

"“I lost in 2009, and it was not the end.  “I lost in 2015, and it’s not the end. I hope to be back here the next year with another chance.”-Nadal on losing at Roland Garros”"

With his crown on the line, many expected the ever resilient champion to fire back as he has so many times in the past: With crushing forehands and chasing balls across the court so that he could hit a winner that other players would have given up on.  Instead, he looked all the bit lethargic and lost as he failed to mount any significant offense on Djokovic to get himself into the set.

Nadal was classy and humble in defeat, embracing Djokovic and gave a parting wave to the loving Parisian crowd.  After the game, Nadal spoke on the loss stating:

"“When you lose in the way I lost today, all you can do is accept it.  He played better than I did; And when that is the case, you have to first accept it; second, congratulate the opponent; and third, analyze the reasons behind the defeat and then work really hard. That’s what I think I’ll have to do now.”"

Jun 3, 2015; Paris, France; Rafael Nadal (ESP) waves goodbye to the crowd after his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day 11 of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Novak Djokovic now finds himself on the cusp of completing the Career Grand slam as both defending champion Nadal and second-seeded Roger Federer have been eliminated from the field.  While it is easy to want to jump ahead and begin declaring his victory as a foregone conclusion, last year’s U.S. Open semifinals showed that there is a reason the matches are played out.  Djokovic will be facing Andy Murray in the semifinal and the winner will face the winner of the match between Stanislas Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

Still, if he exhibits the form that he showcased on Wednesday then it is hard to imagine “the Djoker” falling to either of the three.  If he wins the French Open he will have won each of the four Majors in tennis, becoming only the eighth player in history to do so.  He is also the defending champion at Wimbledon and semifinalist at the U.S. Open, and in displaying the form his pundits are beginning to wonder if Djokovic is in the right form to possibly complete the year Grand Slam.  Come Sunday, a new champion will be crowned for only the second time in a decade.