Monday 11 June 2012

Seventh Heaven For Nadal

Rafael Nadal wins his record seventh French Open title after winning a postponed final against Novak Djokovic. The win, in four sets, puts him ahead of Bjorn Borg in the most amount of titles won at Roland Garros.

Before the final, Djokovic hadn't taken a set against Nadal on clay and it was beginning to look ominous at the start of play on Sunday. The first set finished 6-4 to the Spaniard and Nadal was leading 5-2 in the second before Djokovic's complaints of rain was heard and the players went off court.

Just before that, Djokovic's frustration got the better of him when he put his racket through the advertising board on his chair. The Serb got a warning shortly before the rain delayed the action. The players returned around 15-minutes later and the damp court severely changed the momentum of the game.

The players both held serve to give Nadal a 6-3 second set victory. But the heavier balls meant Nadal's dominance on clay was diminishing. With the court hardening, Djokovic knew he had Nadal's number and roared into a 6-2 third set success.

Djokovic then lead 2-1 in the fourth before the heavens opened once again to force play to be stopped. The decision was to postpone the final until today which played straight into Nadal's hands. With a drier, softer court, Nadal could once again play his match winning shots, but the slight dampness in the air meant that Djokovic did still have a chance. The fourth set went all the way until the Serb double faulted to give Nadal a 7-5 fourth set victory and the record breaking seventh French Open title.

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