Nadal makes it nine
June 8, 2014
Nadal bested Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday.
The world-number one struggled from the start, with the second-seeded Djokovic looking to be in control of nearly every point as he took the first set. But as the heat began to take its toll, the top-seeded Nadal surged ahead. Both players used ice-filled towers to cool themselves.
Djokovic appeared uneasy in the third set. While trailing 3-0 he took his seat on the bench during the changeover, and appeared to vomit a bit on the changeover into the fourth set.
As Nadal found his range, he broke Djokovic to win the second set, then did it again to win the third and finally did it a third time to win the fourth.
The three-and-a-half hour duel ultimately ended when Djokovic double-faulted on match point, shaken by a shout from the crowd.
"Every point was crucial, all the points were hard," Nadal said.
The win gives Nadal his 14th Grand Slam crown, putting him joint second on the all-time list along with Pete Sampras and three behind leader Roger Federer.
In losing, Djokovic failed in his pursuit to become the eighth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles.
"Playing against Novak is always a big challenge, I have lost to him the last four times. Every chance I have to beat him it's because I have had to play to my limit. I feel sorry for Novak. He deserves to win this tournament one day and I'm sure he will," Nadal said.
Nadal is 6-0 against Djokovic at Roland Garros, and 23-19 all time against his Serbian rival.
"It's an amazing, emotional moment for me," said Nadal. "I lost the Australian Open final this year when I had a problem with my back. Today tennis has given me back what happened in Australia."
It is his ninth French Open title in the last 10 years. The victory means he now has an all time record of 66 wins and one loss on the Paris clay.
"Congratulations to Rafa. To win the French Open nine times is incredible," said Djokovic. "There's a lot of emotions for me. I gave my maximum with all my strength and force but Rafa was better on the court."
dr/kms (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa, SID)