Rafael Nadal Wins Thriller To Set Up Novak Djokovic Showdown
Roland Garros
May 30, 2022
Rafael Nadal will play Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros quarter-finals on Tuesday.
It’s the 59th time the greatest players in the world will meet.
Novak edges the head-to-head 30-28 and will start favourite. But you just never know when these two titans go toe-to-toe.
Rafael Nadal against Novak Djokovic is just the kind of epic we can expect at Wimbledon 2022!
It happened four years ago at the All England Club and they had the world gasping in awe before Djokovic eventually won the marathon.
At Roland Garros last year the Serb also prevailed in a wonderful semi-final.
And this time the stakes are perhaps even higher than ever before.
Nadal leads Djokovic 21-20 in Grand Slam titles. Rafa will be desperate to prevent Djokovic drawing level on the Spaniard’s favourite surface.
If Nadal is going to win another Grand Slam anywhere, the French Open is his best bet.
How he would love to cement his current status as the greatest player of all time!
But how much does Nadal have left in the tank, after his five-set classic against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the previous round?
Djokovic had it mostly his own way in a three-set romp against Diego Schwartzman and will still feel fresh by comparison.
Rafa had to dig really deep to overcome his talented young Canadian opponent 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
‘I’m very happy with the attitude at the end because I was able to play more aggressive and go more to the net,’ said Nadal. ‘That made a difference without a doubt.’
In the end it was the older man’s amazing self-belief and greater big-match experience that saw him through.
But that won’t count so much against fellow veteran Djokovic, who is on a mission to equal his rival in the history books.
Wimbledon 2022 could also see a fresh and historic chapter in the extraordinary rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
And some future greats will be on show too. Absorbing new rivalries are now developing, as indicated by another spectacular Roland Garros quarter-final.
Carlos Alcaraz takes on Sascha Zverev in a mouth-watering showdown. The Spaniard should be favourite for that one – but you never know with talented Zverev.
Could the projected clash between young pretender Alcaraz and genius Djokovic ultimately decide the destiny of the French Open title this year?
What a delicious appetiser this tournament is to the main course at Wimbledon 2022!
Remember, Wimbledon is only a month away now.
Book your seats for the biggest and most glamorous sporting event of them all.