Novak Djokovic's embarrassing career-first in French Open final

Never before in Novak Djokovic’s illustrious career had he been handed a bagel in a grand slam final.

Then he ran into a red-hot Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Nadal inflicted one of the most humiliating defeats on his great rival in the French Open final on Sunday, thrashing the World No.1 6-0 6-2 7-5 to lift a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam men’s singles title.

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The first-set annihilation was the first time Djokovic had lost a set to love in 27 grand slam finals, and just the second time in his whole career.

It set the tone for the whole match as Nadal wiped the floor with Djokovic, handing him just his second loss of 2020 (the other being his default at the US Open).

But despite the embarrassing career-first, Djokovic was classy and humble in defeat.

Djokovic was under no illusions about the Herculean effort it would take to beat Nadal in Sunday’s final, but even he was surprised by the level of perfection the Spaniard reached to win a 13th title on the Paris clay.

The 33-year-old Djokovic did not play badly in the final but it took him 55 minutes before he registered his first game in what turned out to be a mauling.

By that stage his task appeared about as hopeless as climbing the Eiffel Tower with his arms and legs tied together and although he battled valiantly, he was crushed 6-0 6-2 7-5.

“I don't have much to say but that I was completely outplayed by Rafa, by the better player on the court,” top seed Djokovic, who many thought was a slight favourite to end Nadal's domination at Roland Garros, told reporters.

“He was not missing at all and getting every ball back, just playing tactically great. I felt well throughout the entire tournament. I thought I was in a great form.

“Certainly, I could have played better, especially in the first two sets. But he did surprise me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing,” Djokovic added.

“He's phenomenal. He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets.”

Nadal takes French Open record to 100-2

Incredibly, the Spaniard made only 14 unforced errors and while Djokovic made 52, many were the result of desperation as he tried to fathom a way to stop the onslaught.

“No holding him back it seems like. It's amazing. I mean, I admire all his achievements, I mean, especially the one here,” Djokovic said of Nadal's record at Roland Garros which now reads 100-2 in terms of wins and losses.

Djokovic had a 37-1 record this year going into the final, his only ‘loss’ being his default at the US Open when he struck a line judge with a ball in the fourth round.

Rarely does the sharp-minded Djokovic make a mistake with his strategy, but he said his ploy to use the drop shot liberally against Nadal, as he had all tournament, had backfired.

Nadal read most of them and Djokovic's success rate with the shot was mediocre at best.

“It didn't work great today, let's say,” Djokovic, who has now lost all three French Open finals in which he faced Nadal, said.

“He was winning a lot of those drop shot points. He was playing all the right shots today.”

with AAP

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