Djokovic defeats Nadal in Sony Ericsson Open men’s final
Alan Diaz/ Associated Press - Novak Djokovic is getting familiar with this scene — having won The Australian Open and ATP Tour events in Dubai, at Indian Wells and The Sony Ericsson Open
“It’s the best four months of my life,” he said. “This streak is incredible.”
Once known as a prankster — and an irritating one to the players he razzed with spot-on imitations, Djokovic has suddenly emerged as a serious rival to the two men who have dominated tennis for the past decade. He has opened the year with resounding victories in four historically difficult tournaments: The Australian Open and ATP Tour events in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Indian Wells, Calif., and here.
“If you want to call it a ‘trivalry’ or rivalry . . . I just try to focus on what I do,” Djokovic said. “Of course, Rafa and Roger are the biggest rivals I have . . . Clay court season is coming. It is going to be interesting to see who is going to play good tennis there.”
Nadal, perhaps, can’t wait to get onto his specialty surface after a pair of painful, back-to-back defeats to Djokovic on hard courts. Two weeks after losing in three sets to Djokovic in the final at Indian Wells, he blew a major opportunity to claim a different result Sunday.
With Djokovic serving and Nadal up 6-5, Nadal jumped ahead, 15-30.
With a chance to win the match with a service break, he instead mis-hit three straight shots, the last one clunking off of his racquet handle.
“When you play against one player like Novak, [the] first thing, he’s very good,” Nadal said. “The second thing, he’s playing with big confidence. When you are winning, it’s easier to keep winning.”
Indeed, Nadal failed to muster the same cool, precision and guile as Djokovic in the match’s most crucial moments. He admitted he got more tired than usual. Djokovic ran him ragged with drop shots, perfect lobs and heady play. The match, which began around 1 p.m. and lasted 3 hours 21 minutes and took place in wilting heat — temperatures around 90 degrees — and humidity.
“It was one of the closest and best finals I have played ever,” Djokovic said. “To be able to win against a great champion like Nadal . . . It was a very high level of tennis today. I think everybody enjoyed it, including us.”
Nadal, who also lost in three sets to Djokovic in the final at Indian Wells two weeks ago, confessed that plain nervousness contributed to his six double faults. On his mind, he admitted: His failure to claim a title at this tournament despite three trips to the finals. Djokovic’s hot streak. His recent victory over Nadal.
This “was a little more difficult to accept [than Indian Wells] because I was ready to win,” Nadal said. But “I didn’t play perfect.”
Djokovic, in fact, was the player who looked sloppy at the start. He struggled with his backhand and piled up unforced errors. He blew four break-point opportunities. Nadal broke his serve in the third and fifth games to go up 5-1.
Nadal sprayed balls in the second set and succumbed to frustration.
Djokovic broke Nadal in the second games and never wavered. He won the set with an ace, ending a game in which he shut out Nadal.
“He did start better the match,” Djokovic said. “I made too many unforced errors. . . . I had lots of winners and decreased the number of unforced errors coming into the second set.”
No one gave an inch in the final set. Both held serve. Both cleaned up their play. The set lasted 1 hour 29 minutes. But Djokovic took a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker on a winner down the line and closed out the match two points later.
“You have to believe,” he said. “On the court, in the end, it’s all mental. . . . In these moments, against a player like Rafa, a very big champion, you got to believe you can win.
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