The lights of Kingdom Arena of Riyadh They withdrew completely to make way for two tennis players who have been shining their own light for two decades. Nadal And Djokovic They give off a nostalgic aroma with every racket. The final decision was given by the Balkans. More rolling, with more speed of legs and head, he won (6-2/7-6) in Riyadh. Both as part of the million dollar exhibition created by Saudi Arabia and named as Six Kings Slam.
Before the last goodbye Rafa THE Davis Cup In Malagathe Spaniard marched for the last time to play a singles match, if Ferrer does not remedy this next November. The artificial congress of Riyadh, deceived by holograms and above all millions of euros, sealed a historic series between Rafa and Novak. Nadal’s shots breathe nostalgia, they inexorably return to the time when it was the Spaniard who overflowed and unleashed winning forehands. It’s not like that anymore.
Despite the fact that the poster offered a bright confrontation with Djokovic, the last between them, the differences immediately became obvious. As much as Rafa tried to fight back with grandeur, as he did during the summer match of the Olympic Games. He has not competed since. Novak said goodbye to him in the French capital and Novak received him in the Saudi capital with a match with the aromas of the previous 60 matches. The first point, a classic. Point fought from the back of the field under a long exchange that escaped Rafa.
The Balearic has kept his essence, he will carry it for eternity, even if his physique denies it. He contradicts her. His strike on the ball after a miss from Djokovic allowed the Balearics to achieve their first liberation match. Until then, he presented himself with a somewhat narrow right and a break against him. He entered a spiral of long balls and others that he could not reach and which ended with Nole sealing (6-2) the first set. With a practically identical result to the first set of the Olympic duel in Paris (6-1).
Rafa’s reaction
Nadal looked at his team while resetting his performance on the court. He rubbed himself with the towel and emerged in the second set as the one with nothing to lose. Reasons and summary it has. Arguments and points brought together in front of a Djokovic surprised by the vigor of the Balearic shots. Service breaks were exchanged to accommodate a balanced set. It had nothing to do with the first one.
Nadal maintained his solidity on serve and returned every service loss to immediate play. He began to react with fangs to each parallel backhand attempted by the Serb. He tried to put together a series of stimuli he would need for this Davis event, taking into account that he hasn’t competed since late July and has done so in fits and starts this season.
There was no great physical wear and tear. Neither on the Serbian side nor on the Spanish side, even if there were blows from those before, which will be written for eternity. Nadal put all his weight into lifting a match point against him and forcing a tie-break. Pure Rafa. His mentality allowed him to remain in the elite for two decades which ended with a right to the net. They merged into a sincere embrace and exchanged knowing smiles. A unique era is ending.
