Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic: A match that deserved a live audience

A Rafael Nadal defeat at the French Open is an inversion of the natural order of things. If any arena in any sport can be called a player’s backyard, Roland Garros is Nadal’s. Novak Djokovic had to wage a titanic battle to deprive Nadal of his 14th entry into a French Open final.

The superlatives describing the contest poured in even as the tie was on. Chris Evert and Andy Roddick described it as one of the best matches ever. Andy Murray called it the perfect clay court match. His brother Jamie Murray said the third set tie break was the most important tie break in the history of tennis. After it was over, Djokovic hailed it as one of the three best matches he has ever played.

Djokovic and Nadal along with their friend and rival Roger Federer are the three all time greats of tennis. Nadal and Federer have won 20 grand slams each, the most in the history of the game. Djokovic has won 18. One of them, probably Djokovic, will end up winning the maximum grand slams. Their achievements, however, defy statistics and indeed words. Their rivalry has defined and illuminated the sport for 15 years.


Even by their lofty standards, however, the French Open semi final, and particularly the third set, was extraordinary. These were two fierce rivals, playing against each other, yet playing for themselves too. The last fifteen months have seen unimaginable heartbreak and loss. Mankind has never appeared less in control for over a century.

But as these two men traded groundstroke after groundstroke, ran to the net and back to the baseline, punched, and counter punched, it was as if they were reclaiming their destiny. The world may be an uncertain place but in this arena, they were determined to give full expression to their god-given talents. To play in the present. To play without fear and with joyous abandon.

This was a high-stake, semi-final played in one of the biggest stages of world tennis. There was a lot of pride involved, but the two played as if stripped of ego. This was a gladiatorial contest and yet witnessing it was almost a spiritual experience. This was sport in its purest form.

Sport evokes the passion of fans but its administrators are notoriously non-sentimental. It was a tribute to the match and the players that the French Open organisers allowed the 5,000 fans present at the stadium to stay on beyond the curfew hours in Paris.

It was a tie that deserved a live audience