How many breaks is that? It's almost like a women's match...

i thought Novak looked done for earlier but now 6 games in a row and its 2 sets to 1. If he was to come back from this it would make his grand slam an even more staggering achievement. I still think Nadal will find a way but it would be so intriguing if Djokovic can force a fifth.

How good, and mentally tough, is Novak Djokovic? Well, he has just won 6 straight games when he was staring defeat in the face at two sets and a break down, in the French Open final, against Rafael Nadal. In historical tennis terms, this just does not happen.

Djokovic's run ends at eight games in a row. But that is not the story right now, it's Rafa being distinctly unhappy with the officials.
Getting so het up is very unlikely Rafa, although the weather conditions do seem to be pretty poor. To be fair to him, Novak was also asking the umpire if he thought the conditions were fair 45 minutes ago. Novak has also looked pretty unsure on his feet on three recent occasions, it would be a disaster for the tournament and the sport in general if one of these guys was to get hurt due to a referee wanting a match to finish on an unsuitable court, because he had the crowd in mind.

The ITV guys are talking as if this could be it for the day. If so, I'm thinking about the Henman-Ivanisevic Semi at Wimbledon a few years back, which dragged over three days due to rain breaks. Ivanisevic was well on top in the first stanza, it then looked like being Henman's in the middle part, but when they finally finished it was Ivanisevic who was the dominant player.
By that logic, this rain delay is very poorly timed for Djokovic. That Nadal held to only be one break down at 2-1 might prove very important, epsecially if Djokovic is slightly tight on the resumption, as he will be serving first.

When was the last time that the final went to a second day?

The US Open has gone into a third week pretty much without fail in recent years. But I don't recall that happening with a final part-way completed, it's always been postponed to the Monday and the complete match played on one day. Likewise, the 2001 Ivanisevic-Rafter Wimbldeon Final started and finished on the 3rd Monday.
The last Slam Final that was threatened with this was the 2008 Nadal-Federer Wimbledon classic. The ref said after it that the 16th game of the deciding set would have been the last for the evening, even if the scoreline had been 8-8 instead of 9-7. But that won't happen again due to the roof. Although the day of the Men's Final could still slip, if the weather is really horrendous and Centre Court is the only possible venue for matches for a number of days.

So, in summary; dunno, sorry.


Edit - I've now looked it up, and the last four US Open Men's Finals have been played on Mondays. That really is getting to be a serious issue. I remember some talk about this during last years tournament (understandably), and that was along the lines that given the design of the Arthur Ashe court, which is a vast and open bowl-like structure, it would be very difficult to modify to include a roof.

Looking at the image, I can see what they mean. The USTA need to spend some money on this...



The French Federation would appear to have similar issues with Philippe Chatrier, but apparently a roof is due in 2017

Wow, Djokovic double faults on Championship point. Nadal wins. I don't recall ever seeing a match of anything like that importance being won from a double fault (although I may have forgotten something obvious).

The greatest tennis player ever now just five slams away from catching Federer.

I must say that i am gutted that the slam wasn't completed today but you have to hand it to Nadal. He found a way to topple his nemesis in Grand Slam Finals. Last night we saw the competitive bastard in Nadal come out. The nice guy image slipped and the winner erupted. The way he insisted on getting off that court gave us a nice wee insight into his desperation to defeat Djokovic.

Once they returned today it always felt like Djokovic was swimming against the tide although i still expected him to save match points the way he has in the past and force the tie break. That would have been an epic tie break so the double fault is even more annoying.

I still dont make Nadal the favourite for Wimbledon. All the pundits will but i think if those two meet in the final at SW19 then Novak will have his way with Rafa much like last year. I can give no feasible reasoning for this but i have a funny feeling old man Federer is going to win Wimbledon.

I left wondering if Nadal's win here doesn't parrallel the 2007 Wimbledon Final. The one where Federer, on his best surface, narrowly edged Nadal against the recent history of that match-up (most emphasised by the 6-3 6-0 6-1 French final) to equal Borg's record of wins on the surface. Despite that match going Federer's way, that he could be so seriously challenged on his home patch was a sign that the guard had really changed. Obviously Djokovic is already no.1, but following this match it is difficult to see Nadal beating him on a hard court for a couple of years at least.
Djokovic will complete the career slam at some point in the next three years, I'm sure of that.

i agree Janik. I have no doubt Djokovic will triumph at Roland Garros soon and will probably add a defeat to Rafa's record there at some point. Much like the Roger-Rafa rivalry at Wimbledon i am sure that when the time comes Novak will need to dig just as deep as Rafa had to in 08. Great champions dont tend to accept defeat easily.

I think this French Open was playing perfectly for Rafa. The surface just seemed to suit home more than ever. You could tell that it was just so slow. When Federer played Djokovic i had absolutely no doubt that Federer would not be able to hit through Novak because of this and that is what happened.

This is why i still give Roger a chance at Wimbledon and US Open. He may not be on their level anymore but i would never say he cannot make it happen once in a while and he still has the class to make the semi finals. He would be the underdog v Rafa or Novak granted but could he beat them on any given day. Of course he can.

Then there is the Murray issue. As a Scotsman myself i would love to see Andy triumph. I dont want to judge his form based on the clay because i really feel he doesnt play well on the stuff. Do i think he has a chance at Wimbledon? I do think he has a sniff but my God he needs to work on that serve. Has anyone ever achieved as much in the modern game with such a piss poor serve? It is truly awful. The fact he is number 4 in the World, has reached 3 grand slam finals and is constantly in the semi finals of these things is testament to his game considering how terrible his serving is.

So as i said earlier i have this funny feeling Roger is gonna win Wimbledon. No real reason why, i just think it. Its not like he has played poorly this season. The courts at the French gave him no chance and i think he knew that. He suggested in an interview before quarters that he couldnt see anyone stopping Rafa.

As for the Olympics this is where is see a strange twist of sporting fate arriving. Murray will win the Gold meaning that he has won at Wimbledon but hasnt won Wimbledon.

The US Open is Novak all the way.