THE FRENCH OPEN 2013 (POST)
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It has been quite an interesting year at Roland Garros with Rafa creating history after a 7-month layoff (July 2012-February 2013). The final against his compatriot David Ferrer was played under poor weather conditions, but he managed to clinch a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Ferrer was doing quite well at the start, but his performance declined thereafter. It seemed that Rafa got more aggressive as the game progressed.
“To beat Rafael on a clay court, I need to play more aggressive,” said Ferrer. “I need to finish the points at the net and play my best tennis to beat him. But when the court is slower, it's very difficult. He has more power than me with his shots and it's very difficult to beat him.”
I never expected a Rafa versus Ferrer final at Roland Garros, but that was before the draw. Rafa had to deal with Novak in the semi-final taking him down in 5 sets. It was a gruelling 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, 9-7 victory for Rafa. A very tight match, especially in the 5thset when Rafa was down 3-4 and equalised 4-4. Nadal won his service point 5-4. Novak then equalised 6-6. The game has been going on for over 4 hours. No one was going to give it up. Novak held serve again at 7-7 (4 hours 30 minutes). Nadal held serve at 8-7 and finally, Novak was defeated 9-7.
