French Open: Epic rematch could put Novak Djokovic closer to history

Published on 08/06/2012 03:39

A YEAR ago in the French Open semi-finals, Roger Federer put a stop to Novak Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak. That was also the last time Djokovic lost at any grand slam tournament. When the two men meet at the same stage at Roland Garros today, 16-times major champion Federer once again stands in Djokovic’s way, with even more at stake.

This time, Djokovic will be seeking a 27th consecutive major match victory, which would leave him one shy of becoming the first man in 43 years to win four Grand Slam titles in a row. “I will try to be out there believing I can win,” said world No 1 Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in July, the US Open in September and the Australian Open in January. “There is no [real] favourite.”

Today’s other semi-final features someone else pursuing history: No 2 Rafael Nadal, who faces No 6 David Ferrer, is hoping to earn a record seventh French Open trophy, which would break a tie with Bjorn Borg. Nadal has a win/loss ratio of 50/1 at Roland Garros, the only loss coming in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling.

Nadal has won all 15 sets he’s played in Paris this year. He’s won 60 of his 61 service games, saving 16 of 17 break points. None of the same sort of drama that Djokovic and Federer created during their progression to the semi-finals – both needed to come back from two-set deficits. They have also produced drama in their past two grand slam matches against each other.

In 2011 at the French Open, Djokovic was unbeaten, and looking rather unbeatable, until a four-set thriller against Federer, whose 18th ace ended their semi-final as dusk was descending. If a fifth set had been necessary, they would have returned the next day to finish things.

Three months later, in the US Open semi-finals, Djokovic erased a two-set deficit and two matchpoints, the first with a wildly risky forehand return winner that barely caught the line and drew a bit of a rebuke from Federer afterward.

“I never played that way,” Federer said that day. “I believe in the hard-work’s-going-to-pay-off kind of thing, because early on, maybe I didn’t always work at my hardest. So for me, this is very hard to understand how can you play a shot like that on matchpoint. But, look, maybe he’s been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You’ve got to ask him.”

Djokovic fought off another matchpoint as well and, with the crowd suddenly on his side, took the last four games. Afterward, Djokovic said he thought the match was lost and conceded that he couldn’t really explain that first matchpoint.

Fast-forward to his French Open quarter-final this week, and Djokovic pulled off the same sort of escape, saving four matchpoints en route to getting past No 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

If Djokovic goes on to win the French Open – joining Don Budge in 1938, and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969 as winners of four major titles in succession – those six matchpoints will certainly stand out.

Budge and Laver won four out of four grand slam tournaments within a calendar year. So there are those who are quick to point out that Djokovic’s feat wouldn’t be considered a true grand slam, because it’s spread over two seasons.

It would be quite impressive nonetheless.