This French Open is the first Grand Slam tournament in a year with both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the field. And anyone who enjoys men바카라™s tennis 바카라” or, indeed, sports 바카라” should be thrilled that those two titans of the game will face each other for a record 59th time. ()
Is it a shame Tuesday night바카라™s match is 바카라śonly바카라ť a quarterfinal, instead of something with more at stake? Perhaps. Will that dissuade anyone from watching from afar or dull the atmosphere that바카라™ll envelop Court Philippe Chatrier? Doubtful.
Could it decrease the intensity of each player바카라™s performance? Not a chance.
바카라śI바카라™m ready for it,바카라ť Djokovic said.
바카라śI hope to be able to give myself a chance to play at the highest level possible,바카라ť Nadal said, 바카라śand then let바카라™s see.바카라ť
So then the question that Nadal will have on his mind 바카라” and we know so because he said so 바카라” and Djokovic might, too, is: How many more of these showdowns are there going to be?
First of all, Nadal turns 36 on Friday; Djokovic turned 35 on May 22, the first day of the French Open.
바카라śI don바카라™t know what can happen in the near future with my career,바카라ť Nadal said.
His body has been a big issue over the past 12 months. He missed the last half of last season, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, because of chronic pain in his left foot that flared up again in recent weeks. After his 20-0 start to 2022, he missed three tournaments because of a rib injury.
바카라śI can바카라™t complain much,바카라ť Nadal said, noting that 2 1/2 weeks ago he had no idea whether he바카라™d make it this far.
바카라śBeing honest, every match that I play here, I don바카라™t know if it바카라™s going to be my last match here in Roland Garros. ... That바카라™s my situation now,바카라ť he said after edging 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets Sunday night. 바카라śThat바카라™s why I am just trying to enjoy as much as possible.바카라ť
Auger-Aliassime said Nadal did not appear to be hampered or slowed at all during their fourth-round thriller, which lasted nearly 4 1/2 hours, almost twice as long as Djokovic바카라™s straight-set win Sunday over 15th-seeded Diego Schwartzman.
Djokovic hasn바카라™t dropped a set through four matches.
바카라śHe바카라™s Novak,바카라ť Schwartzman said, 바카라śand if you are not 100% ... obviously, the result is like this.바카라ť
As for Djokovic, his decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19 prevented him from participating at the Australian Open and, while he바카라™s been assured that won바카라™t be a problem at Wimbledon when it starts June 27, his status for the U.S. Open is uncertain at the moment.
Whether statistics, aesthetics or any other measures is applied, both are among the greatest there바카라™s ever been. About that there can be no debate.
Both have won every Grand Slam tournament at least twice. Nadal owns a men바카라™s-record 21 Slam titles, a number he reached with a tiebreaking triumph at the Australian Open in January. Djokovic, like Roger Federer, is one behind. Djokovic has all sorts of other bona fides, including more weeks spent at No. 1 in the ATP rankings than anyone else and the only man with at least two trophies from every Masters event. He also leads both Federer and Nadal head to head.
Djokovic and Nadal have played each other more frequently than any other pair of men in the half-century-plus of professional tennis. Djokovic leads 30-28 overall; Nadal leads 19-8 on clay, including 7-2 at Roland Garros. Nadal is 109-3 at the French Open, with a record 13 championships, and two of those three losses came against Djokovic, including in the semifinals a year ago en route to the title.
바카라śPlaying him in Roland Garros is always a physical battle,바카라ť Djokovic said, 바카라śalong with everything else.바카라ť
This one is such a big deal that it was scheduled for the night session, even though Nadal made it clear he prefers playing daytime matches on clay, and it바카라™s been made available for free to everyone in France via a streaming service under a special arrangement.
Whoever wins will take on third-seeded Alexander Zverev or sixth-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. The other men바카라™s quarterfinals are No. 7 Andrey Rublev vs. No. 20 Marin Cilic, and No. 8 Casper Ruud vs. unseeded Holger Rune.
Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spaniard considered the Next Big Thing in men바카라™s tennis, knows a significant match when he sees one coming.
바카라śIf I can,바카라ť Alcaraz said about Djokovic vs. Nadal, 바카라śI will watch it.바카라ť
