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Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have contested many notable titles over the last 17 years, competing in the finals of three Majors. However, the two great rivals have never met at the US Open, they came close to winning the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium but never took that last step.
One such situation occurred in 2010, when the Spaniard reached his first US Open final, waiting for Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. Competing against each other for the fourth year in a row in New York, Novak fended off two match points against Roger in an impressive 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory in three hours and 44 minutes.
minutes. Djokovic let two match points slip away at 4-5 in the decider. With two brave forehands and three games in a row, the Serbian player prevailed at the finish line and ruined the final between two dominant men’s tennis figures of the last decade.
Federer came back from 4-2 down in the first match to break twice and win 7-5. Djokovic was the only player on court in the second set, and the five-time winner responded with a late break in the third to increase the lead.
The Serb dominated the fourth set to force a decider, in which he had momentum. However, Novak played a weak service game at 4-5 to face two match points. He kept his cool and landed two gutsy forehands to avoid danger and gain a big lead.
Novak broke Roger in the eleventh game and fended off a break chance in the next before sealing the deal and proceeding to his third Major final. Federer praised Djokovic after the match and said that he would have loved to face Rafa at the US Open for the first time.
«I had a couple of games this year where I was close to the end. You feel like you’ve missed something if you lose after having match points.»
King Roger hailed tennis
Former Australian Open champion Brian Teacher lavished praise on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a recent interview.
«As far as Federer is concerned, he struggled with injuries, obviously he had his heart set on that, to try to get back to playing at the highest level,» Teacher said. «He saw that it was not going to be like that and I think it was the perfect time to retire.
You never know it’s time until it’s time, you know? When you look at how many miles he has on his body, he’s had a million miles on his body and he’s done a pretty incredible job of handling injuries and ultimately, no matter how lucky you are and how well you handle it, he catches everyone. you know?» the teacher said.
«It’s too stressful, this game, and no one has played it at that level for that long in that many games, what all those guys are doing. I just congratulate them and it’s so much fun to watch.»
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