The red clay streaked across Rafa's skin looked like dried blood blotting a boxer’s face. Unleashing his forehand with the ferocity of an uppercut, Nadal defiantly fought off three match points to edge Djokovic in a bruising battle that spanned four hours and three minutes—the longest ATP three-set match of the Open era.
When the red dust settled, Nadal expressed exhilaration and relief in collecting his 33rd consecutive clay-court victory. The exhausting duel left Djokovic drained and despondent. He hit 37 winners, dropped serve only once and won five more points (125 to 120) in the match, yet could not conquer a relentless Nadal, who raised his record to 14-4 against the shattered Serb.
“It’s very disappointing to play as well as I have and still lose the match,” said Djokovic, who would have surpassed Andy Murray and regained the No. 3 ranking with a win. “I played one of my best matches ever. I was a couple of points from victory. I never played a few points above my limits and I still didn’t win.”
Djokovic set the tone for a gripping match in roaring out to a 4-1 first-set lead. Nadal staved off a pair of break points to hold for 5-4 in the second set, then squeezed out the tiebreaker to level the match. Tension escalated in the decider, as Djokovic broke for a 3-1 lead, but Nadal, whose green headband was soaked with sweat, immediately broke back for 2-3. The match stayed on serve into the breaker. Nadal, who had never lost a tiebreaker to Djokovic at that point, teetered on the edge of elimination but saved match points at 5-6 (with a grunting forehand winner down the line), 6-7 (with a forehand winner down the opposite sideline on the 20th shot of the rally) and 8-9. The French Open champion won the final three points, closing when a lunging, stretch forehand from Djokovic found the top of the net.
It was Nadal’s fifth straight win over Djokovic, but it came at a physical price: The following day, he lost the final to Roger Federer, and less than a month later suffered his first career loss at Roland Garros, as Robin Soderling snapped Rafa’s 31-match French Open winning streak in the fourth round.
No. 5: 2010 U.S. Open Final
No. 4: 2011 U.S. Open Final
No. 3: 2011 Miami Final
No. 2: 2009 Madrid Semifinal
No. 1: 2012 Australian Open Final<em>*</em>*
