Top 10 of '18, No. 1: Djokovic tops Nadal in two-day Wimbledon classic

Click here to read Steve's entire countdown of the Best Matches of 2018.

HIGHLIGHTS: Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon semifinals, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 10-8​

At the end of this year’s Championships, we were lucky enough to see a match that was every bit as good as the 2008 final. This time it was between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but in terms of quality, drama, suspense, stakes, shot-making, emotion and any other on-court measurement you want to consider, it lived up to its legendary predecessor. Due to extenuating circumstances, though, the chances seem slim that Djokovic vs. Nadal '18 will join Roger Federer vs. Nadal '08 on the Mt. Olympus of tennis matches.

First, while this five-hour marathon essentially determined the Wimbledon champion, it was a semifinal rather than a final. Second, instead of ending in dramatic darkness, the way Federer vs. Nadal did, Djokovic vs. Nadal was stopped because of a local curfew on its first day, and played under a roof despite dry conditions the second day. The latter was a controversial decision. Nadal wanted the roof off, because (a) Wimbledon is an outdoor event, and (b) he likes to play outdoors. Djokovic wanted the roof closed, because (a) the match had begun with the roof on, and (b) he likes to play indoors. Officials rightly kept the roof on to keep the conditions consistent. (Hopefully, though, Roofgate will lead the tournament to be stingier with its use in the future.)

But if those unfortunate and distracting circumstances robbed this contest of the stage and presentation it deserved, they only made the level of play that Djokovic and Nadal reached together that much more impressive.

Coming into this match, the Serb and the Spaniard had faced off 51 times over 12 years, but only twice before had they gone to a fifth set. Djokovic won 7-5 in the fifth at the 2002 Australian Open, and Nadal returned the favor, 9-7 in the fifth, at the French Open the following spring. Six years later, the Serb and the Spaniard finally brought their five-set act, and their finest tennis, to Centre Court.

We might call Djokovic’s five-hour, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 10-8 win their Third Epic. As far as entertainment value per point goes, this one was the best of all. The degree of difficulty was also the highest, as Nadal and Djokovic had to wait six hours for Kevin Anderson to beat John Isner in the first semifinal; maintain their concentration despite an encroaching, 11:00 P.M. curfew on the first night; and then come back out and rev it up again 14 hours later.

If anything, though, the unsettled conditions ended up forcing Djokovic and Nadal to sharpen their focus. Normally, neither of these two hurry from one point to the next, or rush the rallies to their conclusion. But with a deadline approaching, they took less time before serving; and when the points began, they forced the issue at the first opportunity.

Rather than the lengthy, attritional rallies we saw from them in Melbourne and Paris years earlier, the points at Wimbledon were decided by proactive play. In a measure of how little there was between them, Djokovic and Nadal each finished with 73 winners and 42 errors; each broke serve four times; and they came to net 50 (for Nadal) and 44 (for Djokovic) times. How often does Rafa find himself up there on 50 occasions in a single match?

Once again, Nadal and Djokovic brought out the best in each other, and reminded us that, when you put them on the same court, they’re still the greatest show in tennis. But part of what makes them such a compelling show is that Rafa and Nole also bring out the anxiety in each other.

That’s because of their uniquely long, and uniquely competitive, history. No two men have met as often in the Open era, yet neither has asserted his superiority over the other for long—coming into this semi, Djokovic led their head-to-head 26-25. You could feel that history weigh on both men in this match, but in the crucial moments, you could feel it weighing a little more heavily on Nadal.

That may have been because of the surface—not the surface they were playing on, but the one they weren’t playing on. While Nadal led Djokovic 2-1 on grass coming in, Djokovic led on all surfaces other than clay, 19-9. Djokovic’s flatter strokes, bigger serve and better backhand will always give him a natural advantage on faster surfaces, especially indoors. Nadal had to play slightly more aggressively and live a little closer to the edge than he would like, while Djokovic always seemed to be in his comfort zone.

That made the difference in the match’s two decisive moments, the third-set tiebreaker and the overtime fifth set. In both cases, it was Nadal who appeared to be playing the flashier, riskier, better tennis. He hit forehand drop shot winners, short-hop ground stroke winners, and powerfully confident smash winners. He saved a match point with a drop shot that landed on the sideline. Both times, in the third and fifth set, it looked as if Nadal was destined to get over the hump—he was the No. 1 player in the world, he had won three majors in the last 13 months, and he had beaten Djokovic in their last two meetings. Rafa had three set points in the third-set tiebreaker, and five break points in the fifth set.

Yet Djokovic still won. He won with simple, solid play, like the service winners he used to save set points in the tiebreaker, and to save a break point at 4-4 in the fifth. While Nadal had a mental edge because of their recent history, Djokovic had a mental edge because of their longer history on non-clay surfaces.

Djokovic also won with one spectacular strike, a hooking crosscourt forehand pass to save break point at 7-7 in the fifth. This was the shot of the year: If Djokovic misses, it’s likely that Nadal wins his third Wimbledon and 18th major, and it’s a little less likely that Djokovic goes on to dominate the way he did the rest of the season. But Djokovic made that pass, won Wimbledon and the US Open, and finished the year No. 1. He made that shot because—away from clay, with all else being equal—he’s one shot better than Rafa.

“I have not much more inside me,” Nadal said afterward. “I give it my best.”

After his 2012 Australian Open loss to Djokovic, and his 2013 French Open win over him, Nadal said that destiny had given one match to Nole, and one to him. He said much the same thing here—destiny had given him his five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals, but had given today’s five-setter to his opponent. That opponent concurred.

“Very few things separated us,” a dazed Djokovic said in the moments afterward. “Not till the last shot did I know I was going to win.”

Circus shotmaking, a long and brilliant rivalry, a thriller on Centre Court that took five sets and five hours to decide: While this semifinal may not go down as the greatest match of all time, it showed us that the greatest show in tennis—Nole vs. Rafa—isn’t over yet.

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