After a year filled with unpredictable and seemingly unfathomable events, there has finally has been a return to “normal”, at least for the tennis world. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are facing off in another Grand Slam final, this time at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal dispatched Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-3 7-6, while Novak Djokovic defeated the young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-2 5-7 4-6 6-1 in their respective semi-finals.
Nadal is looking to claim his 13th (!!!) French Open Title, while Novak is vying to become the first men’s player in the Open Era to win each Grand Slam twice.
This will only be the pair’s second clash in a Grand Slam final since 2014 Roland Garros. They last battled for Grand Slam glory at the 2019 Australian Open, where Djokovic won the only straight-sets major championship match between the tennis legends.
The previous meeting (outside of the ATP Cup, which is not a GS) between the two was at the 2019 Australian Open final. In their first Grand Slam championship clash in nearly five years, Djokovic went mental, dispatching the Spaniard in straight sets. With the victory, Novak claimed his 7th Australian Open title, moving past Roger Federer and Roy Emerson (the next year he won his 8th).
Overall, it will be their 56th meeting, the most between two men in the professional era (Djokovic leads 29-26), 16th at a major (Nadal leads 9-6) and eighth at the French Open (Nadal leads 6-1).
“It’s his house,” Djokovic said.
Nadal has the chance to tie Roger Federer’s GS record for 20 (men’s record) with a victory on Sunday.
Enjoy it while it lasts tennis fans, no other sport in the word has seen such an incredibly intense and competitive rivalry between three players ever (and it is unlikely to ever be replicated again)
We will all be hoping that Sunday’s chapter will not be the last.
Work Cited:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/tennis/article/djokovic-escapes-five-will-face-nadal-final/
https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovic-nadal-rivalry-grand-slam-finals