By Chris Oddo | Monday, June 1, 2015
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal continued their march towards an epic quarterfinal on Monday with rousing wins.
Photo: Kenzo Troubillard /AP
The end is nigh for hopes and dreams at the 2015 French Open, as one of tennis’s best two clay-courters will be sent packing in two day's time, when Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic meet in the French Open quarterfinals.
More: Five Questions to Ponder about Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's French Open Quarterfinal
Which one? Well, that is the burning question.
Nadal and Djokovic each advanced to the quarterfinals convincingly on Day 9, ensuring that the pair of fierce rivals will meet at Roland Garros for a seventh time, and 44th overall, on Wednesday.
Ever since the draw revealed that Nadal and Djokovic would share the same quarter two Fridays ago, fans and pundits have circled this matchup and begun to analyze how things might play out, scrutinizing the subtleties of each player’s performance as the pair progressed in their inevitable march. Now that it’s officially pending, Nadal tried to downplay the significance of the meeting, though not even he seemed convinced of that there isn’t a heavier-than-usual gravitas attached to this showdown.
"You can write what you want if it sells but this is not the match of the year,” Nadal said in press after his 6-3 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory over Jack sock on Court Suzanne Lenglen. “Matches of the year are finals, decisive matches.”
But can the Spaniard really believe that a match between the world’s No. 1 ranked player, who is currently riding a 26-match winning streak after today’s 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 assault of Richard Gasquet, and himself in Paris would be anything but the match of the year? Nadal, a nine-time champion may be the only man on earth who craves the Roland Garros title more than Djokovic, who has tried in vain to win it for years. They have been heading in each other’s direction like chugging locomotives all season, and there was nothing that could stop it.
It is a ritual that has played out for five seasons now, and each time it has ended with another crowning achievement for Nadal in Paris and another bitter what-could-have-been for Djokovic. But this year Nadal’s role in the ritual has been based more in reputation than reality. He’s still the man to beat in Paris, but he’s been beatable. Not only by Djokovic but by a host of other players who haven’t normally been able to touch Nadal on clay.
As the spring progressed and Djokovic wreaked havoc on the rest of the tour, belief in the Serb began to grow. He’s been zoning since March but there’s a price to pay for that: Pressure.
"Pressure is on both of us,” Djokovic said after his win over Gasquet, hoping to deflect some of the pressure of being the oddsmaker’s and pundit’s favorite over to his rival. “People expect him to win always. Pressure is also part of what we do. You have to accept it.”
But Djokovic remains the favorite, for whatever it’s worth, and today’s sparkling takedown of Gasquet did nothing to change that. Meanwhile, Nadal’s victory over Sock cast a smidgen of doubt over his confidence. Plagued by doubts earlier in the clay season, Nadal had seemed a different man throughout week one in Paris. But when faced with a difficult situation in the closing moments of set three against the 22-year-old American, Nadal momentarily lost the wheel and drove the car off the road.
After twice being hit with time violations while serving on break point, Nadal was docked a first serve then proceeded to hydroplane. For a spell he was pushed around by Sock and ended up surrendering consecutive breaks to drop the set.
In the fourth set the swagger returned, but it was hard to tell if Nadal’s struggles were something he needed to get out of the way—a good thing—or an indication that bigger struggles could be on the way against the world No. 1.
Still, Djokovic, despite his form and his dominant victory over Nadal at Monte-Carlo this spring, knows he’s in for the ultimate challenge. On paper, this is his match. But on clay, in Paris, that’s a different story. "Playing against him here is not like playing him anywhere else in the world,” he said.
Nadal, who improved to 70-1 lifetime at Roland Garros with his win, has a streak of his own going that seems to be getting little mention. He’s now won 39 matches consecutively on the red clay of Roland Garros. If he manages three more his achievements will surely never be equaled—even now it’s unlikely that they will. But Nadal’s head doesn’t focus on milestones or legacy. Humble, grounded and down-to-earth, Nadal has forged his dominion over Roland Garros with his legendary lust for competition. His is a quest not for records but for something more intangible. After winning six, seven, eight, nine titles at Roland Garros, one would think that his hunger would taper, that he’d stop the vision quest.
But he hasn’t. Which is why Djokovic will have to rip it from a screaming Nadal if he wants it bad enough on Wednesday.
Surely Djokovic will breakthrough and win this title someday, and when he does he’ll become the 8th player in the history of the Open Era to have won all four major titles. But will it be Sunday in Paris?
We’re all dying to find out.