By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 19, 2021
There is not a bigger mountain to climb in tennis than Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros.
After his 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 triumph over the King of Clay on Friday night in Paris, Novak Djokovic took pleasure in what he called his best victory in Paris, comparing it to an epic trek to one of the world’s tallest peaks.
“Each time you step on the court with him, you know that you have to kind of climb Mt. Everest to win against this guy here,” Djokovic said. “I won only once in I think our eight matches that we ever played in Chatrier here in Roland Garros. I tried to take some positives and some cues from that match in 2015 that I won against him to implement tonight, which worked out very nicely.
“But it's just one of these matches that I really will remember for a very long time, not just because I won the match but because of the atmosphere and just the occasion was very special.”
It was Djokovic’s 30th win against Nadal, and he becomes the first man in history to defeat Nadal twice at Roland-Garros.
The Spaniard, now 105-3 lifetime, had never lost in Paris after winning the first set.
Djokovic will bid to become the first player in Open Era history to win all four Grand Slams twice on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. He'll also play for his 19th major title.
But on Friday, he wanted to take at least a few minutes to celebrate his achievement.
“Definitely the best match that I was part of ever in Roland Garros for me, and top three matches that I ever played in my entire career, considering quality of tennis, playing my biggest rival on the court where he has had so much success and has been the dominant force in the last 15- plus years,” Djokovic said.