Novak Djokovic Wins An All-Timer At Roland Garros - Hands Rafael Nadal Only His 3rd Loss Ever At The French Open

MARTIN BUREAU. Getty Images.

Djokovic def. Nadal 3-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2

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Holy fucking shit that match was one for the ages. Was it the greatest of all time? I can't say that with the way the 4th set ended, but if it had kept up its pace for a full 5 sets I think we would have been forced to say that. That being said, this one was certainly up there in the ranks of all-timers. That 3rd set was 97 minutes. NINETY SEVEN MINUTES. Every point had my jaw on the floor. I had friends text me who had never watched tennis in their life saying they'd never seen anything like it. Pure insanity. Rafa lost this one in that 3rd set in my mind. Having set point on Novak's serve and blowing it is gut wrenching. The easy net winner at 4-3 in the tiebreak that he sailed was bizarre. Almost impossible to overcome those mistakes and compose yourself to beat Novak in that spot. 

This is just Rafa's 3rd ever loss (105-3) at Roland Garros in his career. It's the first time he's ever lost in the semifinals. What Novak Djokovic just accomplished was simply unbelievable. The level of tennis you have to play to even take a set off the King of Clay is ridiculous. To knock out the 4 time reigning champ and 13 time overall winner? You gotta play the best match of your life and that's what Djokovic just did. He said it himself afterwards. I'm out of breath after watching that. The fact that French Government recognized how good that was and realized they couldn't send the fans home because of curfew says it all. Tennis defeated covid Friday night in France. 

Here's the full match highlights in case you were watching soccer for some reason.