The two had seemed set for a showdown to match their Australian Open final earlier this year, and if the first three sets were anything to go by, then this was going to be as excitingly unpredictable as before.
Service games were lost, then deficit overturned as the pendulum swung back and forth – Nadal seeming an early favourite before a latter day resurgence by Djokovic that saw him take the third set and reignited hopes he could succeed in becoming only the third player of all time to hold all four slams simultaneously.
Rain delays had seen the Paris final get delayed several times yesterday before its conclusion was postponed to today.
The rain delay though hampered Djokovic’s comeback and momentum, and in the end there was to be no final twist in this tale as Nadal came out and took the fourth and final set.
Djokovic lost his serve twice in the nine games played today, while during this same period, Nadal lost only three points on his own serve – a statistic which succinctly portrays the gulf between the two players.
Photo: Getty.
