Roger Federer had to wonder what he needed to do to win. Rafael Nadal had to wonder how he could win when he wasn’t playing his best. And wherever he was, Novak Djokovic had to wonder how big an opportunity was missed.
Actually, we can answer that last one first: It was a pretty big one. But more on that later.
Instead, let’s first take a look at Federer. As he steps away from the French Open, he has to have mixed feelings; he played Nadal better than usual, but he still lost. That’s four times he has lost to Nadal in the French Open, but unlike the previous three times he actually made a match of it despite losing in four sets.
And Sunday he played Nadal close in each set with the exception of the final one. He also fought back into the match by employing a drop shot he previously eschewed. But, really, his rally had the feel of a grand champion going down with a fight rather than one in which he could overtake Nadal. But doesn’t his showing bode well for the rest of the summer? Federer played in all four major finals three times between 2006 and 2009 but only three since.
For Nadal, the win was a reminder that he didn’t even need to play his best on clay to win. He was beatable in the first set yet rallied from a 5-2 hole against a great player, ignited in part when his powerful forehand became a factor. And it was darned near impossible for Federer to get a shot past him once Nadal turned the match around.
But where does this leave Djokovic? He, not Federer, is up to the task of beating Nadal. He’s done it already this year.
Great as it was to see Federer reach back a few years and to see Nadal respond like a powerful champion, it would have been nice to see Djokovic in that match. At least the ending would have been in suspense.
