Novak Djokovic has admitted that he didn’t expect Rafael Nadal to play at such a high standard following his straight sets loss to the Spaniard in the final of the French Open.
The world No.1 only managed to win two games during the first two sets and didn’t break Nadal until over two hours into the match before losing 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, in what was one of his heaviest defeats in a Grand Slam final. Djokovic did illustrate moments of world class tennis but struggled with his first serve as he leaked 52 unforced errors. Making it only the second time he has lost a match this year after the US Open where he got defaulted for accidentally hitting a linesperson with a ball.
“I don’t have much to say but that I was completely overplayed by Rafa, the better player on the court. I mean, he was not missing at all and getting every ball back, just playing tactically great,” Djokovic said during his press conference.
“He did surprise me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing, the level. I mean, he’s phenomenal. He played a perfect match,especially in the first two sets.”
Djokovic, who was playing in the Roland Garros final for the first time since winning the title in 2016, entered Sunday’s final with questions over his health. In his previous clash against Pablo Carreno Busta earlier in the week he took a medical time out for issues with his arm and neck. However, the Serbian has insisted that he has been in good shape throughout.
“I felt well throughout the entire tournament. I thought I was in a great form,” he stated.
So where did it go wrong for the 17-time Grand Slam champion in Paris? Perhaps the use of the drop shot backfired for him. He used the tactic four times in the opening game alone but changed to other methods as the final progressed.
“It didn’t work great today,” he commented on the drop shots. “He (Nadal) was winning a lot of those drop shot points that were played by my side.’
“I did try tactically different things, but not much worked in the first two sets. I wanted to kind of disrupt his rhythm but he was ready. He was there, he was prepared and he was playing all the right shots today.’
“It’s just one of these days where you have to just say, Chapeau, and well done.”
Reflecting further on his performance, the Serbian says his mistakes were triggered by the pressure applied from across the court. He has now played Nadal a record 56 times on the ATP Tour and still leads their head-to-head 29-27.
“I was probably rushing a bit much, trying to play shorter points, probably go for winners. I probably wasn’t constructing the points well. That reflected in the result,” he explained.
“But that was also caused by him, by his amazing defence. He was getting a lot of balls back.”
Djokovic’s win-loss record for the season now stands at 37-2. If he would have won against Nadal he would have become the first man in the Open Era to have claimed all four Grand Slam tournaments at least twice.
