Tennis Forever

[leosimha]

September 10, 2013, 2:52 pm

The Turning Point of the Nadal-Djokovic Match

By GEOFF MACDONALD

Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rafael Nadal knew his third set victory was pivotal in beating Novak Djokovic in the United States Open final.

Rafael Nadal came back from the precipice in the ninth game of the pivotal third set, saving three straight break points to wrest control from Novak Djokovic and turn the match in his favor. It was a stunning reversal of fortune for Djokovic, who was a point away from serving for a two-sets-to-one lead with the wind at his back.

Instead, Nadal’s tenacity and will prevailed, and when he broke Djokovic to clinch the third set, he also broke the Serb’s fighting spirit. Nadal ran out the fourth set, 6-1, as a beaten Djokovic put up only nominal resistance.

What happened? How did Nadal win the third set when Djokovic appeared to be in control?

I thought Djokovic missed a big opportunity to break serve early in the set, when Nadal served at 0-2 (having himself played a rare, dispirited game to be broken to open the third set) and again at 1-3. Even though Djokovic’s level of play was rising, he let Nadal hang around and stay close.

After elevating his game to win the second set and secure an early break in the third, Djokovic was unable to go for the jugular and break Nadal again. He played a few loose points, which gave Nadal hope at a point in the match where Djokovic’s best tennis was dominating Nadal. It’s a seductive feeling to win such incredible points in a Grand Slam final. But those missed service returns count, too, although the remarkable winner seems more important.

Still, at 4-4, Djokovic played three astonishing points, including one in which he stretched wide and ripped a deep, neutralizing forehand up the middle that tripped up a surprised Nadal, who toppled to the court as his feet got tangled together. Remarkably, even as he fell backward to the court, Nadal’s eyes remained on the ball. But he lost the point, and after another dominating point by Djokovic, in which the Serb timed a backhand return perfectly, Nadal faced three break points.

In hindsight, the match was won in the ensuing five points. Nadal went on the offensive, hitting out on his groundstrokes, moving up in the court to control court positioning and take the ball early. He also served with remarkable precision, including an ace up the T at 30-40 that surprised Djokovic, who was expecting the wide slice, Nadal’s favorite serve. It was a bold decision to go up the middle, but it worked beautifully. When he finally got an ad on his serve, Nadal attacked the net, pounding an overhead into the stands as an exclamation point to his improbable third-set comeback. When he broke a stunned Djokovic to win the third set, Nadal bellowed, “Vamos!” as a dejected Djokovic walked slowly to his chair.

Link - http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.co...ic-match/?_r=0