Roland Garros 2013 – Takeaways from France

2) The Djoker was the man to beat, not Rafa

On the surface (pun unintended!), this may look like an incredulous statement, but this was Novak’s tournament to lose (lose he did, but not before he gave Rafa an almighty scare!). When Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in the semis of the 2011 edition of Roland Garros, the unmistakable image was Federer wagging his index finger after that match, almost as if saying ‘I’m still numero uno.’ When Nadal beat Djokovic in the semis this year, there was a similar reaction. It was more relief than jubilation. Djokovic got as close as anyone has ever come to upending Nadal in a best-of-five match in Paris. And the incredible thing is, Djokovic wasn’t even playing his best tennis. Anyone who throws in 70 unforced errors against Nadal anywhere, let alone in Court Philippe Chatrier, is doomed to fight a losing battle. That he took it to five sets is a tribute to his cussedness (oddly enough, one of Rafa’s more admirable traits). He was distracted by the whole controversy of watering the courts which caused him to effectively throw the final game and the match. The fact is that Djokovic takes Nadal out of his comfort zone like nobody else can. The way he came back in the fourth set was a stirring effort. And from there, till 4-3 in the fifth, he effectively out-Nadal-ed Nadal. He is the only one who seems to make Nadal look helpless on court consistently (or simply put, Novak gives Rafa hell!). And just like with Federer, you almost sense that Djokovic will complete his Career Slam sooner rather later. You can bet he’ll put in a renewed effort next year. He may have lost, but this semifinal match might well be the one that has put the fear of Novak truly in Rafa’s head.