1 Response to madrid09nadal_djokovic_

1. Voo de Mar says:

   October 13, 2023 at 5:12 pm

   Points by each set: | 24-34, 48-47, 49-44 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   22 % Nadal – 30 of 133
   19 % Djokovic – 22 of 112

   # In that longest ‘best of 3’ match in history (previous record: Cherkasov d. Gaudenzi 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 after 3:54h in Tel Aviv ’93 equalled by the Mallorcans, Nadal-Moya in Chennai ’08), Nadal saved three mini-match points in the 2nd set (two different games), and was losing 1:3* (30-all) in the 3rd, later on *5:6 (15/30), in the tie-break he saved three match points:
   5:6* (forehand winner in a 20-stroke rally)
   6:7 (forehand winner in a 19-stroke rally… one of Nadal’s strokes touched the net-cord)
   8:9 (unreturned serve)
   …
   11/9 Djokovic’s forehand error, Nadal celebrated on his back (photo)
   “In a game like that with so many match points I think you need luck to win, there’s no doubt about it, but I played with great courage and I think everything went well for me,” said Nadal. “It’s very disappointing to play as well as I have and still lose the match. I played one of my best matches ever. I even played a few points above my limits and I still didn’t win.” said Djokovic. After that match it’d be crazy to expect that Djokovic would win their rivalry, but this is what happened fifteen years later (31-29)!

   Trivia:
   # Match no. 18 between them (Nadal leads 14-4)
   # There were two medical time-outs: for Nadal at 2:1* in 2nd set, for Djokovic at 3:2* in 3rd
   # afterwards Djokovic didn’t lose an MP-up match for nine years!
   # Mohamed Lahyani was a chair-umpire, he umpired also the longest ‘best of 5’ match between Isner and Mahut (2010)
   # Carlos Moya, who co-created the previous record of the longest ‘best of 3’ match (actually equaled), witnessed the Madrid ’09 semifinal as a spectator

   Nadal’s four longest ‘best of 3’ matches:
   4 hours 3 minutes – Madrid ’09 (semifinal): Nadal d. Djokovic 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9)… Total points: 121-125 (246)
   3 hours 59 minutes – Bastad ’24 (quarterfinal): Nadal d. Navone 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5… Total points: 136-126 (262)
   3 hours 55 minutes – Chennai ’08 (semifinal): Nadal d. Moya 6-7(3), 7-6(8), 7-6(1)… Total points: 140-134 (274)
   3 hours 39 minutes – Rome ’07 (semifinal): Nadal d. Davydenko 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-4… Total points: 128-116 (241)

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