If tennis players live to win Grand Slams, tennis fans live to watch matches like the two men’s semifinals played today on Court Chatrier. My personal request to the gods to provide sun and calm were only half heard; the first part of the day was sunny and extremely windy, the second part of the afternoon cloudy and somewhat less windy. But in both matches wind was a factor.
Today is Rafael Nadal’s birthday, and he has celebrated it in Paris five of the last six years. Usually there is some incredible cake the likes of which you would only find in this city. Whatever else he did today, though, Rafa spent over three hours on court taking care of business in a match against Andy Murray that put on display some of the best tennis each player is capable of.
No small thing for Murray who, in addition to coming in with the handicap that every other player comes into a match against Rafa on clay, was playing with a massively strapped ankle. It didn’t seem to inhibit his movement, fortunately. It was a three set match but a long one. Both players were deliberate in the extreme, but with the wind, who could blame them? And anyway, where else did you want to be? The men’s semifinals at Roland Garros is one of the best tickets of the tournament.
The final score was 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 and as it indicates, Murray really kept up with Rafa. The Spaniard looked even better than he did two days ago in his quarterfinal match and I think it’s safe to say that the Rafa who will play in his sixth final on Sunday is the real Rafa. Today, he was, as he always is, especially on clay, the that much better player although there were certainly many points that Andy Murray gave him plenty including a fabulous volley for a winner in response to a passing shot from Rafa that was incredible itself.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer began their match at exactly six o’clock which meant they had 3 1/2 hours of light to get off the court, hopefully with a completed match and a winner ready to go the distance on Sunday. And that is exactly what it took.
This was a riveting match. Federer came out the more relaxed of the two. In an interesting twist, this was really the first time Roger came out onto Chatrier with no pressure on him. He has flown under the radar nearly the whole tournament, few picked him to win this match-up. It turned out to be a blessing.
Novak, on the other hand, started nervous, tight. The first set was a seesaw affair. They traded breaks to begin. At 4-5, 15-40, Djokovic had two set points on Roger’s serve. Roger served himself out of trouble and held for 5-5. Then Novak found himself in a hole at 15-30 in the next game and at that exact point the umpire decided to give him a time violation warning.
The two took the first set to a tiebreak and Federer showed his stuff for an early lead but in the end he won it by the narrowest of margins, 7-5. First set to Roger.
Novak still wasn’t in this match. He seemed lacklustre, he didn’t seem to be feeling or showing how much he wanted it. For the first time in his glorious year of winning, he was in a foul mood. Roger took advantage and went out to a 4-1 lead. Novak finally started to find himself and his game, but in the end the second set went to Roger, 6-3.
Roger has a 174-0 record when he wins the first two sets. Whether Novak knew that fact or not, he knew he was in deep trouble.
Novak might have disappeared at that point and it would have been a shame if that had happened. Fortunately, it didn’t. He fought back. Took a 3-0 lead in the third set and ended up winning it 6-3.
At that point there was less than an hour of daylight left so it was clear either Roger would win or they would leave the court for the night and come back tomorrow to play a fifth set. Which would it be? They held serve to 4-4. Then in a very long ninth game, Djokovic finally broke to take the lead 5-4. Surely he would hold his own serve and force a fifth set!
Roger would not have it. He returned the next three points to perfection and then squared things to 5-5. He served and held for 6-5. Then Novak took things to the tiebreak.
At 4-3 in the tiebreak, Roger hit ace number 17, then added another service winner to go up 6-3. Three match points! Incredibly, Novak survived a lucky net cord for 6-4 and hit an ace for 6-5. But then Roger, who had been having an exceptional serving day, came up to the line. He threw up the ball, followed through with his elegant motion and delivered the ball right up the T, for an ace! And for the match. Could there have been any more fitting conclusion? I think not.
This time, in the fading light, unlike Wimbledon in 2008, it was Roger who held court. And here was the former number one proving to be the spoiler. Had Novak won, he would have become the number one player in the world and his winning streak would have jumped to 42 and would have remained, at least for another couple days, unbroken. Not to mention he would have advanced to his first final in Paris. Didn’t happen. The moment meant a lot to Roger as you could tell from his reaction after the win, holding up one finger, feeling right at home in victory. The best player in the history of the game trumped the best player of the year.
All was well in the tennis world.
The umpire for the first match was the one and only Kadir Nooni, he of the midnight blue voice. His voice is so remarkable and low and beautiful, I suspect it is something everyone who meets him comments on. You can’t help but notice it. It’s a thing of beauty, like Federer’s movement, like Gasquet’s backhand. At one point, John McEnroe said “I hope he doesn’t smoke.”, explaining that he hoped that voice wasn’t the result of cigarettes and therefore harder to endorse. Hey, the French smoke, still. A lot. I don’t care how he got the voice, just keep talking.
We’re down to the finals, the bittersweet ending. The women’s final tomorrow between Schiavone and Li Na. The men on Sunday between Roger and Rafa.
Thanks for reading Cupcakes and Tennis, the tennis blog with a sweet spot. Enjoy the finals, I’ll be here the next two days and for a wrap-up, before we head over to England and the run-up to Wimbledon and then the Championships. This is a great time of year for tennis fans!
