Within a Whisper of Heartbreak, Nadal Pulls Out a Victory

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Within a Whisper of Heartbreak, Nadal Pulls Out a Victory

By Chris Oddo

(June 7, 2013) -- There is still business for Rafael Nadal to tend to at the 2013 French Open, but after today's rousing five-set triumph over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Nadal may have faced his sternest challenge in Paris already.

Based on the way he batted back Novak Djokovic's best and brightest tennis over the four hours and thirty-seven minutes that it took to finish the latest installment of the pair's epic rivalry, anything that David Ferrer can throw at him in Sunday's final will likely be met with an equal and greater reply from the seven-time French Open champion.

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Nadal's 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 semifinal victory ran the gamut of emotions and evoked the full range of each player's otherworldly arsenal, replete with drama, momentum swings, odd twists and turns, and ultimately sweet satisfaction for the consensus king of clay and terror of the terre battue in Paris.

As the flags at the top of Court Philippe Chatrier blew in unison above the sun-drenched red clay, Nadal and Djokovic traded blows late into the afternoon. Sublime at times, scratchy at others (but only because each is the only one seemingly talented enough to thwart the other), the match seemed to center upon the unbending will and lion-sized desire of the two combatants.

“It was a really emotional match, and that's the real thing,” said Nadal.

The 27-year-old, who moved into a tie on the all-time Roland Garros win list by stretching his record at the annual clay-court event to 58-1, will seek sole possession of the record on Sunday while simultaneously attempting to become the only player in the history of men's tennis to win an eighth title at a single Grand Slam.

For Djokovic, who battled with fierceness, and even held a lead in the waning moments of the deciding set, the letdown was palpable after the match.

“It's still very fresh,” he told reporters. “All I can feel now is disappointment, that's it.”

Djokovic's latest bid to usurp Nadal's throne in Paris fell short on Friday, but the margin of victory for the Spaniard was razor-thin. After falling behind in sets one and three, Djokovic rallied to level each time.

The Serb, who once again proved that he is the only player capable of having Nadal on a string on his best surface, brought the capacity crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier to its feet when he broke Nadal with a curling forehand down the line to force a tiebreaker in the fourth set.

Revved up, Djokovic played a near perfect tiebreaker to force the decider, becoming only the second man to take Nadal to a winner-take-all fifth set at Roland Garros in the process.

“These kind of matches make the sport big,” said Nadal. “Djokovic has special things in these moments. Special shots, because his return is amazing. I knew that the match [was] not over.”

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The match had plenty of drama to go along with its grit, both in its early and late stages.

Umpire Pascal Maria ruled that a disputed Djokovic backhand was millimeters outside the line in the second game of the third set. The point gave Nadal the early break in the set, but ESPN's SpotShot technology revealed that the ball actually clipped the line.

Though Djokovic didn't have knowledge of the replay, he argued the call briefly, then lost his focus—and quickly, the set.

In the fifth set, while clinging to a 4-3 lead and serving, Djokovic accidentally touched the net on his follow through after executing a smash that would have given him game point. The crucial swing point was awarded to Nadal by Maria, and he would opportunistically convert the crucial break three points later.

“He showed the courage in the right moments, and went for his shots, and when he was break down in the fifth he made some incredible shots from the baseline... that's why he's the champion, that's why he's been ruling Roland Garros for many years,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic had been bidding to become the first man to win the Australian and French Open back-to-back in the same year since 1992, in addition to becoming the seventh player to capture the elusive career Grand Slam.

For now, Djokovic will remain on another, less desirable list. He's one of seven men—along with Arthur Ashe, John Newcombe, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras--that have won the other three Grand Slams but failed to win at Roland Garros.

That is, largely, thanks to Nadal. The king of clay has been invincible at Roland Garros except for one fateful day in May of 2009, when Nadal was defeated by the Swede Robin Soderling in the fourth round.

The loss in 2009 snapped Nadal's 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros; Today his 27-match winning streak on the clay in Paris is living proof that the Spaniard is not a man to take defeat lightly.

(Photo Credit: AP)