Rafael Nadal shrugged off his epic loss to Novak Djokovic at the French Open on Friday, insisting that “life goes on” as the 13-time champion suffered just his third defeat in 108 matches in Paris over 16 years.
In their 58th career clash, world No. 1 Djokovic triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in their semi-final and remained on course to capture a 19th major and become the first man in more than 50 years to win all four Slams twice.
Nadal, the defending champion and chasing a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title, refused to dwell on the consequences of his 4 hour, 11 minute loss.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I am sad to have lost in the most important tournament of the year for me, but life goes on, it is nothing more than a defeat on a tennis court,” 35-year-old Nadal said. “If everything goes well, tomorrow I will be at home with my family and friends, and then we will see what is next.”
Nadal said he plans to be back next year, although he added that time is not on his side if he wants to re-establish his Paris dominance.
Had he made today’s championship match, he would have been the oldest Roland Garros finalist in the modern era.
Photo: AFP
“Although it is a very important tournament for me, I am aware that you cannot win it 15 or 16 times,” he said. “Next year I will come again, God willing, with the belief and with the necessary work to be able to give myself another chance.”
In their 58th career meeting, and ninth at the French Open, Nadal had looked comfortably on course for victory when he raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set, but 2016 champion Djokovic, the man now responsible for two of Nadal’s losses in Paris — having also triumphed in the 2015 quarter-finals — hit back.
As the match progressed, the conditions became heavier, more humid and slower, and the world No. 1 flourished.
Photo: AFP
He claimed a titanic 92-minute third set which had seen him serve for it at 5-4 and then have to save a set point in the 12th game.
In the fourth set, he was 0-2 down before racing away with the next six games for his second win in Paris over Nadal in nine meetings.
Djokovic is to play his sixth Roland Garros final and 29th at the Slams against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who earlier on Friday defeated Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Photo: AFP
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Barbora Krejcikova were to meet the women’s singles final last night, with the match to finish after press time.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS