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The king is dead: Rafael Nadal blown out at French Open

The king of clay was deposed in a bloodless coup Wednesday in Paris, as Novak Djokovic pounded nine-time clay-court champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to hand the Spaniard his second-ever loss at the event and just the second loss ever in a best-of-five clay-court match. Djokovic’s win only advances him to the semifinals though, where he’ll face the winner of the Andy Murray and David Ferrer match.

The loss drops Nadal to a still-remarkable 70-2 lifetime at Roland Garros and 93-2 in those best-of-five matches. It halted his 39-match winning streak at Roland Garros and will move him outside the top 10 for the first time in a decade. But it was hardly an upset, as Djokovic was heavily favored to win and extend his current winning streak to 27, thus becoming the first man to ever defeat Nadal at all four majors.

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

The end came quickly for Nadal, a tennis version of a guillotine, if you will. He was down 0-4 to open the match, then stormed back to tie the set at 4-4, eventually saving five set points before dumping a nine-point service game at 5-6. With Djokovic complaining to the chair umpire about the condition of the courts, the two traded service games in the second until Djokovic broke in a lengthy game at 4-3, essentially ending the match. Nadal had never been down two sets at the French Open before and there was little doubt that a loss was quick to come. That was confirmed when Djokovic broke Rafa in his first two service games in the third, turning the must-see match into a must-flee. Never before has Nadal looked so lost on clay (his forehand was basically non-existent) and never before has Djokovic looked so dominant (his defense was even more spectacular than usual).

In four days, Djokovic might want to thank Nadal in his acceptance speech, should he end up winning the tournament to cap the career Grand Slam. Nadal’s quick loss will help Djokovic conserve energy for his semifinal and final matches. The last thing either man needed was to win one of their patented marathon matches that went for four-and-a-half hours. With this match coming in at well under three hours, Djokovic will be thrilled to savor the win for 24 hours before playing in Friday’s semis.

 

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

But will Djokovic win it all? He’s going to need to readjust his expectations to do so. Ever since the draw was released, all eyes were on Nadal and this match on Wednesday. Heck, Djokovic has been probably thinking about beating Nadal at the French Open for three years, when he first came close in 2012 then did so again in both 2013 and 2014. Though Djokovic surely knows he still has work to do to cap the career Slam, there has to be some feeling that the biggest win came today with his easy defeat of Nadal. A future letdown is hardly out of the question. On the other hand, the fact that he beat Nadal so easily can only be a boon. Djokovic, who isn’t exactly a wallflower, will be brimming with confidence and it’ll be impossible for the other players not to notice the scoreline.

(Reuters)

(Reuters)

Those discussions of career Slams and getting halfway to the yearly Slam (he’d be the first man to do so since Jim Courier in 1992) are for the weekend. Today is about the end of the reign of the greatest clay-court player in history. Though Nadal still has plenty of years left to extend French Open lead, you can’t help but feel that Wednesday changed the trajectory of his career. Just 16 months ago, Nadal looked like he’d cruise to an Australian Open title to get his 14th Slam and then earn his 15th at Roland Garros, putting Roger Federer and his 17 majors directly in his sights. But Nadal stunningly lost that match to Stan Wawrinka, still won the French, and now stays stuck at 14 majors. Getting three to tie Federer, especially given Nadal’s struggles on all surfaces, seems unthinkable now.

But to count him out would be foolish. Though Nadal’s career seems to be spinning out of control, tennis has the tendency to turn on a dime. We’ll count out Nadal today, then he’ll stun us all with a deep run at Wimbledon. We’ll say he’s no longer dominant on his favored surface, until Nadal reemerges next year as the rightful heir to the throne he abdicated on a cool Paris day to Novak Djokovic, the new king of clay.

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

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