Have you seen a boxing match where the fighters are 78 feet from each other? Watch Rafael Nadal against Novak Djokovic in the second French Open semifinal tonight (June 11). Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev will contest the first.
All sporting confrontations have an element of boxing in them. Cricket may be a team sport but it is one-against-one when the bowler runs in at a batsman. Likewise when a forward takes on a defender in football or hockey, or when penalty taker and goalkeeper face each other.
Sometimes, the boxing quotient is higher than usual because of the physicality and warrior mindset of the protagonists. That is often the case with Nadal vs Djokovic. If Roger Federer, with his ‘floats like a butterfly stings like a bee’ cocktail, is Muhammad Ali, Nadal and Djokovic are Mike Tyson and Joe Frazier, all muscle, mental strength, stamina and technique.
Even though both, being in their mid-30s now, have added some Ali to their games. The drop shot, the charge to the net, the playing close to the baseline on some points are ways to surprise the other and also end points sooner to conserve the legs and the lungs.
Today’s fight is their 58th. You read that right. Djokovic just about leads the Ab Tak Sattavan 29-28. But this is clay and the French Open. Nadal is 19-7 on the Serbian on the surface, and defeated him in their last encounter on clay in Rome. At the French Open, a title Nadal has won 13 times, he has won seven of his eight matches against Djokovic.
Such is the magnitude of what the Spaniard has achieved in Paris that organisers were moved into erecting his sculpture at the venue this year, even though he is an active player. It seems they felt it was not enough to give him just a trophy and a big cheque each year. (This year’s winner gets $1.71 million). And then there was last year’s final. It was expected to be close, but Nadal KOed Djokovic in straight sets, including a humiliating bagel in the first set. Nadal will draw some confidence from that performance.
In Djokovic’s favour are the several beatings he has handed Nadal on big stages, such as the 2019 Australian Open final. Secondly, he will have less pressure than Nadal. This being clay, he is the slight underdog. Nadal is also shouldering the burden of history, as a 14th win in Paris will give him his 21st Major title and take him past Federer as the winner of most Grand Slams. Also, Djokovic seems more in Nadal’s head than the other way around. Sometimes when he plays Djokovic, Nadal’s eyes acquire a haunted look, and perspiration cascades off his brow and his arms.
The two titans of world sport have not been at their best at the French Open so far. But champions train themselves to peak at the right time. And so, having been briefed with various stats and strategies by their teams, their serve will be a few kilometres faster today, the revs on the ball will be greater or fewer, depending upon the player. Often in the past, we have made the mistake of predicting the result of such matches based on the players’ early round form. And often, we are proved wrong because players like Nadal and Djokovic play so much better in later rounds.
The two legends of world sport may have to negotiate varying weather and crowd conditions in the semifinal. Social distancing rules permit around 5,000 people in the stands at the 15,000-capacity Court Philippe Chatrier. But if play goes beyond 11 pm, the curfew will set in, and spectators will have to trudge out with their baguettes under their arms. In that case, the last blows of Djokovic and Nadal may be exchanged in an empty arena. At the end of which only one man will be left standing. And that man is likely to be Nadal.
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