Nadal and his craziness in 2009, having all these 4 hour and 5 hour epics. Not to mention those three setters in Rotterdam following that epic AO campaign spanning almost 10 hours in his last two matches there, surviving against Nalbandian at Indian Wells from double break down and MPs down. And a few more before this one. Basically ruined his season...
BrotherTree1 Yeah unfortunately after this match he wasn’t the same for the rest of the year. Pulled out of Wimbledon, had an abdomen injury for a lot of the hard court season, and was just overall hobbled. It’s a shame considering this was a prime year
@@SJ-di5zu well iguess its natural, he is not a machine, his style of play demands athleticism thats why his game now is more entertaining as it was back then bcz now he know he can't keep up doing this type of stuff all the time
Nadal was not respecting his body back then in the beginning of 2009..he played mubadala then doha and then played in Australia and won tough back to back 5 sets..and then he didn’t rest well and decided to play indoors in rotterdam where he played tough matches against tsonga,dimitrov and monfils before losing the final against murray (6-0 final set..he had some pain in his knee) he then played indian wells won the title saving match points against nalbandian and lost in Miami in the quarters to delpo in a tough 3 set match...he played a full clay season having only one week to prepare after miami..won montecarlo and barcelona back to back and took again one week rest before winning in rome and reached the madrid final and played the amazing 4 hours match against novak in the semis and in the final he lost to Federer easily he had no tank left..so that was normal that he got injured in the french and skipped wimbledon he wasn’t treating his body well even at 23 years old he was at his peak he could have skipped for example rotterdam and miami and barcelona and focused more on what matters the most the slams !!
Don't tell this to Nadal haters. Too much relevant information. No excuses are allowed. Nadal was 100% healthy and got severely outclassed by Soderling, so they say. 🤣
@@bubufubu Obviously Nadal at his best on clay is too good for anyone and yes he was injured but come on, I just recently watched the highlights of that match and Soderling played an incredible match.
this an epic match from two titans of tennis a high tension battle ever where this time nadal defeated djokovic with a very tight score after a long tiebreak in the 3rd set, I like both of them!!!
I think this match was essentially what helped roger win the RG that year. He beat rafa the next day and gained more confidence on clay by doing so which helped massively in RG.
to be honest rafa was exhausted by playing tis match and lost to soderling in fo . if not for these long matches against novak roger verdasco etc rafa wouldve smashed roger in fo
@@somagnik a weeks of resting between madrid and roland garros it was. and in rafa's first 3 rounds rafa faced shitplayers. and btw, roger never faced nadal in rg 2009. rafa faced king soderling in his 4th match in rg 2009.
It did because Fed’s best performance at RG was in 2011, beating peak Novak a long the way to the final ending his 43 match winning streak, yet Nadal still beat Fed in the final fairly convincingly because Nadal was healthy, so there’s no doubt this match played a roll in Nadal losing to Soderling. It’s also worth noting that Nadal’s parents were in the middle of a divorce at the time of RG as well, and that effected Nadal mentally, but ultimately no one ever beat a healthy 100% Nadal at RG.
This was before Djokovic changed his diet in 2010 and he was still battling evenly with Nadal on clay. Since 2011 he improved his stamina and got better in long matches.
There was almost a yearning in Novak's body language "come on man, let me win this for a change, I am playing so well, please please don't treat this as GS , go a bit easy and let me win" but Rafa wouldn't let him. Maybe this match made Novak, maybe here he decided he would surpass Rafa in the end. On the other hand Rafa probably did a disservice to himself by stretching this match like this. He lost to Fed cheaply in final
The reason why he was defeated in French Open, played the entire clay season like a monster with Djokovic and got tired during the french open. Lost Madrid open to Federer as well after this epic battle.
Djokovic was the only one on the tour at this time who had the belief that he could stand up to Nadal on clay. The rest of the tour took their beatings from Nadal handily without much resistance.
15+ years of this intensity...without a doubt two of the most physical specimens to showcase this awesome sport. Unforgettable match of the highest quality, toe to toe against a prime Nadal on Clay in bo3 😳 absolutely brutal but brilliant match by both 👏👏
@@djordjenikolic9059 mate, you are replying to a two year old comment. Djokovic is the greatest athlete of all time now, but get a life lmao. Nadal was very good in RG 2022 (at the time of this comment), but he clearly fell off
Wow what a classic! Nadal was exhausted after this .. cost him the final and eventually the whole year! Yet he managed to score 9000+ year ending points which is insane।
The curious thing is that in Madrid in 2009, neither of them were at their best, Rafa had a bad season, well below the unforgettable years of 2008 and 2010 and even 2011, in which he finished runners-up, losing to Novak, who was in the peak, Nole in 2009 was on the rise, despite the title in Australia the previous year, their first major, in 2009 it was very different from what we would see 2 years later, but even so they played one of the best matches in 3 sets that I have already watched.
This is a tournament when Thanks to Novak Djokovic,took Rafas legs completly getting into final. Federer beat Nadal in final and first set 6 0,...after longest ever best of three semis in history on clay. Its perfect example how good was Novak even before 2011 on clay.Solving health issues somewhere in 2010 just proved that Rafa is gonna lose eventually on clay.
Man crazy how this was more than 10 years ago, it was the first full clay court match i watched. Both guys rely more on their physicality and defense back in the days, crazy how both their games just got even more complete after this
@Alan Goswani Please, don't comment if you don't watch Nadal's games. He substantially improved all his shotmaking: from his backhand, to his drop shots, to his slice. In this match he usually avoids using his backhand, as if he were not that comfortable with that shot.
2009 Madrid and 2013 Roland Garros were the two best clay-court matches these two ever played against each other. Epic, gladiatorial-type drama in both and both won by the King of Clay, Rafa! All hail the one and only King of Clay!! 💪💪💪
Rafa could not break Novak's serve. You can tell that problems are on horizon, something is not right. Month later Rafa get's his first ever loss @ RG from Söderling. That opens the back door for Federer to get his one and only French Open's title... He has Söderling to thank for that. His 0-6 record @ RG against Rafa would have been 0-7 for sure.
Well Federer is 2-14 against Nadal on clay and one of those wins was in the finals of the very same tournament. Nadal got so much fatigued after this marathon match that he just gifted the finals. Federer must be always indebted to Novak for this win. 😂😂😂😂
Who liked the moment when that kid bow down along with rafa after the victory.... did you notice the crowd went crazy with euphoria.... glorious... magical.
Fantastic matches. It’s interesting to note that many times these legends won majors/ masters against each other after saving match points. So when they are not winning they are coming close enough to earn match points but just unfortunate to lose. Djokovic could easily have won this match but it was just not his day to win.
I really don't get what kind of public goes to watch the matches... Like 12:10 Djokovic stop the play cause the ball was out and chair umpire confirms it but no public has to oppose everything thing Djokovic does!!!🤦🏼♂️
@@sasook favouring your favorite player is okay I never ever got problem with that👍. But these people are not like illiterate that they are favouring a out call I mean what do you want?? Chair umpire should give point to Nadal for his errors??? I'm pointing out about this!!!🙄
14 Years Ago Really.. 1 of thee Best 4 Sure.. Best Rivalry of All time in my Opinion.. I can imagine Jannik Sinner & Carlitoz Alcaraz Watching This and Dreaming..
Watching Nadal play 15 years later with the same audience vibe but playing this tournament for the last time was truly emotional. The matches he’s played Wow. But no sooner Rafa leaves ,Madrid is cheering for Carlos Alcaraz. Who’ll be 21 this month coming. So Spain is in good hands. Will Nadal attempt RG? That’s a completely different head space, so who knows. But that one will be a huge send off. Thank you Nadal for years of unbelievable tennis…
One of the best matches i have ever seen in my life. Unfortunately also one of the reasons why Nadal has so many injuries today. Novak had made points on those MP (3) but somehow Nadal was finding impossible forehands and won that match despite winning less points in the match. Crazy match. Today's "next gen" can't touch this level, maybe dream about it.
Lo más interesante del 26:20 que acaba con ese punto tan épico y grito que levantó a todos salvando un matchball es que en ese saque djokovic hizo el saque más rápido de su carrera. Partido histórico, el mejor de todos los tiempos para mi.
In the first set, I don't think Nadal will win this match, i don't believe it. Why ? Cause Novak will never give up. When Novak won set 1, he knows what he need to do. He played stronger, faster and risky. He keep that straegy during the rest of the match. Well played, Novak. You have a respect from me. The best thing of Nadal is he never stop playing defensive till he says it's over. Nadal is Gladiator in this match. Djoko put a lot of pressure to Nadal and Nadal gets through it. What a player ! Also, Nadal have a strong weapon to strike back, his forehand too strong and his legs is crazy too. Nadal knows what he need to do, he take a chance too good in important moments to destroy Novak's spirit. Overall, Congratulation to Nadal and a big respect to Novak. Both players are incredible. What a dramatic match !
You have to enjoy this one, because it basically robbed Nadal of one of his peak prime years. Should've won multiple majors, as he did in '08 and '10. Nadal staying healthy in 2009 is one of the great what-ifs in tennis history. Would Federer have completely imploded instead of staging a comeback? Would the major race have ended early and took away Federer's hunger to keep playing? Would Djokovic even be in the conversation for rivaling Nadal's greatness?
As if both Federer and Djokovic wouldn't play tennis after this. Djokovic too was drained after this match and it cost him the season too. It was all to Federers benefit. But even if Nadal had a greater year, the other 2 wouldn't go away.
if this match were 5 sets it would've probably been over 6 hours and probably the greatest match of all time
The rate the last 2 sets were going it would have been 7 hours lol
AO Final 2012
perhaps longer match, but quality-wise the rg 2011 of djokovic-nadal would have been the best (if they had faced).
@@scottwarren4998 Yes agreed, I'm a Roger fan, but really wish we could have seen Novak-Rafa at 2011 RG.
Nadal vs zverev at this year's french could have easily gone over 5hrs as set 2 didnt even finish and match was already 3h+
Nadal and his craziness in 2009, having all these 4 hour and 5 hour epics. Not to mention those three setters in Rotterdam following that epic AO campaign spanning almost 10 hours in his last two matches there, surviving against Nalbandian at Indian Wells from double break down and MPs down. And a few more before this one. Basically ruined his season...
BrotherTree1 Yeah unfortunately after this match he wasn’t the same for the rest of the year. Pulled out of Wimbledon, had an abdomen injury for a lot of the hard court season, and was just overall hobbled. It’s a shame considering this was a prime year
@@SJ-di5zu well iguess its natural, he is not a machine, his style of play demands athleticism thats why his game now is more entertaining as it was back then bcz now he know he can't keep up doing this type of stuff all the time
@@nitinmadhwal5349 yeah he’s more aggressive now and don’t go after every single ball anymore
Nadal was not respecting his body back then in the beginning of 2009..he played mubadala then doha and then played in Australia and won tough back to back 5 sets..and then he didn’t rest well and decided to play indoors in rotterdam where he played tough matches against tsonga,dimitrov and monfils before losing the final against murray (6-0 final set..he had some pain in his knee) he then played indian wells won the title saving match points against nalbandian and lost in Miami in the quarters to delpo in a tough 3 set match...he played a full clay season having only one week to prepare after miami..won montecarlo and barcelona back to back and took again one week rest before winning in rome and reached the madrid final and played the amazing 4 hours match against novak in the semis and in the final he lost to Federer easily he had no tank left..so that was normal that he got injured in the french and skipped wimbledon he wasn’t treating his body well even at 23 years old he was at his peak he could have skipped for example rotterdam and miami and barcelona and focused more on what matters the most the slams !!
Don't tell this to Nadal haters. Too much relevant information. No excuses are allowed. Nadal was 100% healthy and got severely outclassed by Soderling, so they say. 🤣
So a guy with 23 years old has to skik tournaments? Cmon
Nadal problem is his game style. Injurys speakinh
@@bubufubu Obviously Nadal at his best on clay is too good for anyone and yes he was injured but come on, I just recently watched the highlights of that match and Soderling played an incredible match.
@@carlosmateos6567 Exactly, if his game style wasn't so physical then he could've played all those tournaments and have a healthy body.
@@sumnahlennon4516 like Federer has done for years
Might be their very best match, such a clean strokes on both sides. Magnificent!
this an epic match from two titans of tennis a high tension battle ever where this time nadal defeated djokovic with a very tight score after a long tiebreak in the 3rd set, I like both of them!!!
rafa was hitting the ball weird that day
I think this match was essentially what helped roger win the RG that year. He beat rafa the next day and gained more confidence on clay by doing so which helped massively in RG.
to be honest rafa was exhausted by playing tis match and lost to soderling in fo . if not for these long matches against novak roger verdasco etc rafa wouldve smashed roger in fo
@@somagnik a weeks of resting between madrid and roland garros it was. and in rafa's first 3 rounds rafa faced shitplayers. and btw, roger never faced nadal in rg 2009.
rafa faced king soderling in his 4th match in rg 2009.
It did because Fed’s best performance at RG was in 2011, beating peak Novak a long the way to the final ending his 43 match winning streak, yet Nadal still beat Fed in the final fairly convincingly because Nadal was healthy, so there’s no doubt this match played a roll in Nadal losing to Soderling. It’s also worth noting that Nadal’s parents were in the middle of a divorce at the time of RG as well, and that effected Nadal mentally, but ultimately no one ever beat a healthy 100% Nadal at RG.
Defensive baseline at its extreme best along with ao 2012 final
Spanish Clay court tennis at its best 👏🏾👏🏾
VAMOS RAFAAA
Is this Djokovic's best ever performance in a match he ultimately lost?
Roland Garros 2011 or AO 14 probably
One of the rare matches where Djokovic had 3 match points and still lost
Just 3 times in his career until now and this is one of them
This was before Djokovic changed his diet in 2010 and he was still battling evenly with Nadal on clay. Since 2011 he improved his stamina and got better in long matches.
26:48😂😂😂😂💪💪
the best rivalry ever in tennis history
Incredible match , Novak put Nadal under severe pressure. What a legends .
That scream at 6-5 for Nole in the 3rd and the point after,aaaaaaaaaah,Nadal The Beast
it’s like this match broke both of them for the rest of 2009
best 3 set match ever i think
28:51 Come on Mohamed, it's in
you think djoko/his team would have kept quiet...? it was out...Rafa's action proved that...
Its clearly out
No habra otro nole
Tremendo partido, este y el de la semi final de Roland Garros 2013, fabulosos
Actually this maraton match helped Roger Federer to win RG 20 days later.
The day Goat showed 100healthy rafa is beatable on clay.
The reason Nole lost that day - he was too cautious on crusial points...
There was almost a yearning in Novak's body language "come on man, let me win this for a change, I am playing so well, please please don't treat this as GS , go a bit easy and let me win" but Rafa wouldn't let him. Maybe this match made Novak, maybe here he decided he would surpass Rafa in the end. On the other hand Rafa probably did a disservice to himself by stretching this match like this. He lost to Fed cheaply in final
Novak was nothing in 2009
Muy bien Nadal
26:48 that roar!!! I get chills no matter how many times I've watched it over the years.
The Lion's roar!
@@andyroo9381hell yeh!!!!
The reason why he was defeated in French Open, played the entire clay season like a monster with Djokovic and got tired during the french open. Lost Madrid open to Federer as well after this epic battle.
26:49 Nadal’s ultimate Dragon Ball Z moment.
lol Rafa is actually a fan of dragonball as a kid
2009...and i remember this match like it was yesterday...
These people Rafa, Nole, RF still ballin' in 2020. What a legends.
Rf not
@@gustavosaffar4983 come on, you know thats a lie. Roger very much a legend.
The best 3 set match of all time.
The kid was hilarious 🤣🤣🤣
😂😂
However the security must’ve been embarrassed
I was wondering who yhat kid was, and wrf was going on xD But then i noticed Nadal pushed the kid head away and i was ohhh...
The kid did that in another Nadal match. It’s Uncle Tony’s son. I’m sure you are interested two years later.😉
Ah so he does know him then
Djokovic was the only one on the tour at this time who had the belief that he could stand up to Nadal on clay. The rest of the tour took their beatings from Nadal handily without much resistance.
Fed won the fo
@@justinsaehoon with the help of soderlig
@@SathishKumar-pw9fu Fed won that Madrid open defeatig Rafa
@@aarya8879 Yes, less than 24 hours after this match. This match basically ended Rafa's season. Federer never beat Rafa on clay after that.
Fed beat Rafa in hamburg in 2007
loving these extended highlights, keep up the good work!!!
15+ years of this intensity...without a doubt two of the most physical specimens to showcase this awesome sport. Unforgettable match of the highest quality, toe to toe against a prime Nadal on Clay in bo3 😳 absolutely brutal but brilliant match by both 👏👏
Amazing match!!!! Both deserved to win!!!! I wish Nole had won but Rafa just took control after the match points!!!! Idemooo Nole!!!! Vamos Rafa!!!!
Long haired Nadal was a beast
I miss the long hair it looked awesome on him
NOW HE IS A BALD BEAST !!
Current rafa is still a beast
@@Divvy21beast? He needs 4 hours to beat Navone on clay 😂😂😂
He got smashed by Novak easily
@@djordjenikolic9059 mate, you are replying to a two year old comment. Djokovic is the greatest athlete of all time now, but get a life lmao. Nadal was very good in RG 2022 (at the time of this comment), but he clearly fell off
The stamina of young nadal was just insane. Like he doesnt get tired, even djokovic was out of breath many times
26:49 AAHHH!!! *Super Saiyan Nadal*
29:50 😂👍
29:33 who’s kid is that? 🤬Coming in and ruining the moment at the net lol 😂
The ball barely moved through the air
What a grueling encounter
Wow what a classic! Nadal was exhausted after this .. cost him the final and eventually the whole year! Yet he managed to score 9000+ year ending points which is insane।
Ao 2009 exhausted him
Nadal really treated this match like a grand slam final. That's just how serious he took Novak back then even before 2011 happened.
Lmao it was quite the opposite, Djokovic played out of this world: many more winners and points as well
The curious thing is that in Madrid in 2009, neither of them were at their best, Rafa had a bad season, well below the unforgettable years of 2008 and 2010 and even 2011, in which he finished runners-up, losing to Novak, who was in the peak, Nole in 2009 was on the rise, despite the title in Australia the previous year, their first major, in 2009 it was very different from what we would see 2 years later, but even so they played one of the best matches in 3 sets that I have already watched.
A match that broke both of them for the rest of the season. It played a big part in Nadal RG defeat against Soderling.
And now - Djokovic-Alcaraz, Cincinnati 2023 💯
last night time over 3:42 . The longest match of all time in Cincinati Ohio
This is a tournament when Thanks to Novak Djokovic,took Rafas legs completly getting into final. Federer beat Nadal in final and first set 6 0,...after longest ever best of three semis in history on clay. Its perfect example how good was Novak even before 2011 on clay.Solving health issues somewhere in 2010 just proved that Rafa is gonna lose eventually on clay.
Best match in Madrid for sure
4 sure !
And thats why rafa lost in the final...
yes. after a 4 hour marathon, the very next day to play final.
Quit making excuses you numbskull
@@yoyolol22 Jeesus man, stop being so salty
@@yoyolol22 it's truth not execuse
what the hell is wrong with this commnet section. Instead of appreciating an epic match people are calling djokovic chokovic and all
The only man who can stand against Nadal on clay.
Greatest point in tennis history 26:22
Man crazy how this was more than 10 years ago, it was the first full clay court match i watched. Both guys rely more on their physicality and defense back in the days, crazy how both their games just got even more complete after this
Nadal remained the same or a couple of notches down, whereas Djokovic raised his game much higher to utmost completeness, I just love the kid !
@Alan Goswani Please, don't comment if you don't watch Nadal's games. He substantially improved all his shotmaking: from his backhand, to his drop shots, to his slice. In this match he usually avoids using his backhand, as if he were not that comfortable with that shot.
Djokovic relied more on his shot power than his physicality even here, are you blind? He never was one of the fastest players on the tour.
@@jameswalker6864novak is well known for his movement on court..his court coverage is on par with that of nadal and Murray if not better...
you are just a blind idiot @@AlanGoswami-nz9lg
Was the kid Uncle Tony's son? Classic match!
top 3 masters matches of all time easily
Son: Dad, what noise does a Goat make?
Dad : 26:49
Loved that point, epic forehand and grunt. Haha. What a legend Rafa is.
2009 Madrid and 2013 Roland Garros were the two best clay-court matches these two ever played against each other. Epic, gladiatorial-type drama in both and both won by the King of Clay, Rafa! All hail the one and only King of Clay!! 💪💪💪
King of tennis*
I've always wondered who the hell was that kid at the end??!😅
Wouldnt that be somethin *IF* that was Carlos Alcaraz, future men's #1?
Has to be one of the best ATP 1000s.That kid was adorable.
Who was he? 😂
Tennis does not get better than this.
Greatest 3 set match ever by a long way over 4 hours of that quality has never been replicated and it likely never will be.
Wish they had the commentary for the full highlights. Love me some Robbie Koenig!
This is probably djokovic best match on clay ever, I CANT STILL BELIEVE HE LOST THIS MATCH😭😭😭😭
RG 2011 was better
29:51 I love this kid.
hes annoying af
Rafa could not break Novak's serve. You can tell that problems are on horizon, something is not right. Month later Rafa get's his first ever loss @ RG from Söderling. That opens the back door for Federer to get his one and only French Open's title... He has Söderling to thank for that. His 0-6 record @ RG against Rafa would have been 0-7 for sure.
Well Federer is 2-14 against Nadal on clay and one of those wins was in the finals of the very same tournament.
Nadal got so much fatigued after this marathon match that he just gifted the finals.
Federer must be always indebted to Novak for this win. 😂😂😂😂
To look back and think we were watching probably the two greatest players of all time.
Pretty evident if you ask me. The level here is absurdly high.
@@mskcouricthere are matches where 2 players look better in terms of tennis level . Doesn't mean they'll be the greatest .
This djokovic could beat todays djokovic no doubt about it. Anyone who says that that this statement is blasphemy doesnt know tennis at all.
The greatest masters 1000 games off all time. Goat rafaaa
Who liked the moment when that kid bow down along with rafa after the victory.... did you notice the crowd went crazy with euphoria.... glorious... magical.
Who was that kid? Just a random kid?
He ruined it
Fantastic matches. It’s interesting to note that many times these legends won majors/ masters against each other after saving match points. So when they are not winning they are coming close enough to earn match points but just unfortunate to lose. Djokovic could easily have won this match but it was just not his day to win.
My God... I got fast heartbeat even in highlights
that kid wasn't letting Rafa go... very pushy youngster... security was also unable to deal with him :-)
Kid was trying to take Rafa’s moment, followed him around asking for things 😂
I could see this like a million times. What an epic match. More than 4h for a 3 ser match. Amazing!!!!
I really don't get what kind of public goes to watch the matches... Like 12:10 Djokovic stop the play cause the ball was out and chair umpire confirms it but no public has to oppose everything thing Djokovic does!!!🤦🏼♂️
They’re in Madrid, so of course the crowd will heavily favor Nadal, it’s his country after all
@@sasook favouring your favorite player is okay I never ever got problem with that👍. But these people are not like illiterate that they are favouring a out call I mean what do you want?? Chair umpire should give point to Nadal for his errors??? I'm pointing out about this!!!🙄
Rafa’s forehand takeback was very strange here.
GOAT VS GOAT + GOAT = RAFA correct✓
Wrong
How im the world did i miss this epic Masters 1000 match????!😢
Was i sick back in 2009???!😊
Nadal came up in the crucial I think nole played better tennis
Dios después del partido más épico de la historia el puto niño del final que pesao
Nadal celebra como si fuera ya la final y eran semi finales , pero para mi esta fue la final anticipada y uno de los mejores partidos que existen!
Rafa’s backhand moonballs are just 🤮
who would say these two would still be fighting at a high level in 2020.
*at the highest level
*2022
14 Years Ago Really..
1 of thee Best 4 Sure..
Best Rivalry of All time in my Opinion..
I can imagine Jannik Sinner & Carlitoz Alcaraz Watching This and Dreaming..
The day Goat showed 100healthy rafa is beatable on clay.
Oh God.. came here to watch the kid at the end. As if the kid raised Rafa from the crib.
great stuff from both players. what's up with that annoying kid at the end though
ikr, everyone is so delighted with that kid, but I find him to be a pathetic imposter.
On the last point, Djokovic served at 138 mph
Who is the little kid at the end?
This one will go down in history!
Watching Nadal play 15 years later with the same audience vibe but playing this tournament for the last time was truly emotional. The matches he’s played Wow. But no sooner Rafa leaves ,Madrid is cheering for Carlos Alcaraz. Who’ll be 21 this month coming. So Spain is in good hands. Will Nadal attempt RG? That’s a completely different head space, so who knows. But that one will be a huge send off. Thank you Nadal for years of unbelievable tennis…
Nadal on clay keeps djoker at bay
One of the best matches i have ever seen in my life. Unfortunately also one of the reasons why Nadal has so many injuries today. Novak had made points on those MP (3) but somehow Nadal was finding impossible forehands and won that match despite winning less points in the match. Crazy match. Today's "next gen" can't touch this level, maybe dream about it.
Lo más interesante del 26:20 que acaba con ese punto tan épico y grito que levantó a todos salvando un matchball es que en ese saque djokovic hizo el saque más rápido de su carrera. Partido histórico, el mejor de todos los tiempos para mi.
In the first set, I don't think Nadal will win this match, i don't believe it. Why ? Cause Novak will never give up. When Novak won set 1, he knows what he need to do. He played stronger, faster and risky. He keep that straegy during the rest of the match. Well played, Novak. You have a respect from me.
The best thing of Nadal is he never stop playing defensive till he says it's over. Nadal is Gladiator in this match. Djoko put a lot of pressure to Nadal and Nadal gets through it. What a player ! Also, Nadal have a strong weapon to strike back, his forehand too strong and his legs is crazy too. Nadal knows what he need to do, he take a chance too good in important moments to destroy Novak's spirit.
Overall, Congratulation to Nadal and a big respect to Novak. Both players are incredible. What a dramatic match !
Rafaaaa in trans.
You have to enjoy this one, because it basically robbed Nadal of one of his peak prime years. Should've won multiple majors, as he did in '08 and '10. Nadal staying healthy in 2009 is one of the great what-ifs in tennis history. Would Federer have completely imploded instead of staging a comeback? Would the major race have ended early and took away Federer's hunger to keep playing? Would Djokovic even be in the conversation for rivaling Nadal's greatness?
What are you talking about? This grueling match cost Rafa the 09 French?
As if both Federer and Djokovic wouldn't play tennis after this. Djokovic too was drained after this match and it cost him the season too. It was all to Federers benefit. But even if Nadal had a greater year, the other 2 wouldn't go away.
Perfect