![magical clay magical clay](https://bigamartusax.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2020/04/71BPxzmBPAL._AC_SL1500_-555x605.jpg)
He needed a tiebreak to close out his 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Molcan in the second round. This time, however, Nadal raised his own level to match Djokovic, putting on a show en route to his 110th victory at Roland-Garros.ĭjokovic didn’t drop a set in four matches heading into the quarter-finals but he was pushed the most by 24-year-old Alex Molcan, who added Marian Vajda to his team earlier this month. There were shades of that 2021 meeting all over this Chatrier clash – especially after Nadal stormed through the first set and Djokovic, like last year, raised his level and began to claw his way back. Six-time champion Bjorn Borg called their 2013 semi-final the best clay-court match he’d ever seen, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 win for Nadal.Īnd while it may be tinged with recency bias, last year’s semi-final battle was also an instant classic, with Djokovic rallying from a set down to charge past the 13-time champion 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 on his way to the title.īut such is the mark of these generational talents and all-time legends, always-improving and ever-evolving, that even now they can still find a way to surprise each other.
![magical clay magical clay](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0e/34/38/0e3438df9892e9f32c22084feb795a48.jpg)
They’ve now met 10 times at Roland-Garros alone, and their head-to-head here is dotted with matches widely regarded as some of the best to ever be played on this surface. When two players have faced each other as many times as these two – an Open Era-leading 59 times and counting – you would think there would be no secrets between them.