Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal stun with 'ridiculous' French Open act
Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal have produced a remarkable second set of tennis in the men's quarter-final at the French Open that took more than 67 minutes to complete just seven games.
The 13-time Roland Garros champion came out firing and took the the first set 6-2 in a brilliant start against the World No.1.
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Nadal also jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second with a rattled Djokovic looking for answers to compete with ferocity of the Spaniard.
However, Djokovic dug deep and claimed the next four games.
Djokovic's turn around saw some remarkable rallies played in a huge momentum swing that saw him level the match.
And in a remarkable stat, the pair battled it out for 67 minutes just to complete seven games in the second set.
It took nearly 30 minutes for a change of ends in the second set.
During the epic set, Nadal was handed a time violation for slowing down the shot clock in the heat of the battle.
Following his comeback, Djokovic let out an almighty roar right in front of the crowd, and Nadal walking past, as he reached his bench.
Right after the roar, the chair umpire appeared to speak to Djokovic about the incident.
The tennis world erupted over the 'ridiculous' scenes unfolding.
Almost half an hour since the last change over it’s actually ridiculous
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 31, 2022
Djokovic lets out a huge roar as he wins four consecutive games. 67 minutes played in the second set for the 7 games
Djokovic 2-6, 4-3 Nadalhttps://t.co/PnDrlJ13DJ— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) May 31, 2022
This is what it takes for someone to recover from two breaks against Nadal. Djokovic now has the longest sequence of games won in this match — 4 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/k3ANUDOpFM
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) May 31, 2022
From 0-3 in the second set, Djokovic amps up every facet of his game to take 4-3 lead.
But no game--no point--is coming easy for either. These are Battles Royale.— Liz Clarke (@lizclarketweet) May 31, 2022
11:03pm.
Two hours gone.
Nadal 6-2 *3-4 Djokovic. pic.twitter.com/MnNCENlEZY— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 31, 2022
Watch this Djokovic/Nadal match finish really late like 1/2am Paris time as its 2 hours in and the second set is not even done. Insane tennis.#RolandGarros #RolandGarros2022 #FrenchOpen #FrenchOpen2022
— Charles (@prince_chas_cca) May 31, 2022
This is a marathon second set, hammer and tongs the both of them. Just incredible how they are still doing it at this age. Djokovic really finding something special now though #RolandGarros
— Ryan Lewis 🏴🏴 (@Ryan_Lewis226) May 31, 2022
After nadal vs djokovic match 😂 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Eos0uc3yUf
— Ani (@BloodBag222) May 31, 2022
While Djokovic stole the second set, Nadal produced a similar comeback in the fourth to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in a French Open classic.
Nadal will now take on Alexander Zverev in the men's semi-final.
Novak Djokovic booed upon entry
Before the match got underway, there were ugly scenes as both players walked out onto court, with spectators on Court Philippe-Chatrier loudly booing Djokovic.
The World No.1 has never experience much crowd support at Roland Garros and was never going to have the crowd on his side against the 13-time champion Nadal.
Nevertheless, American legend McEnroe was still shocked to hear the boos that rained down on Djokovic on Tuesday.
“No other player has had to deal with more adversity," McEnroe said on Eurosport.
"It is unfair, I’ve got to say that. This guy has turned lemons into lemonade more often than any player in the history of tennis, and if you don’t think it bothers him, you’re nuts.
"He is so mentally tough that he can deal with this and somehow channel that anger and frustration over what he feels is a lack of respect - and I feel it is too.”
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