Chapter 27: Gatekeepers
As younger ATP players began to threaten Nadal and Djokovic, the two titans showed that it would take more than skill to displace them.
The end of 2020 brought the first real concerns that Djokovic and Nadal could be bundled out of dominance by a younger group. They were both in fine form at the World Tour Finals, making the semifinals. Yet they both lost in tight three-setters, Nadal to Medvedev, Djokovic to Thiem. Nadal had served for a straight-set win, Djokovic had led 4-0 in the deciding-set tiebreak with Thiem, but for a change, their opponents were better when the pressure was highest. Neither Medvedev nor Thiem wilted in the face of a physical match; indeed, Nadal seemed to tire first in his semifinal. For the first time in a long time, maybe ever, Djokovic and Nadal had played quite well and lost. The losses didn’t signal the end of their reign, but at the time, they hinted at it.
That perception disappeared in a hurry, however, when Djokovic waxed Medvedev in the final of the 2021 Australian Open, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Medvedev was the oddsmakers’ favorite going in. I thought Medvedev would win. He looked just as solid, maybe even stronger, from the back of the court as Djokovic. But from the jump, Djokovic was at his brilliant best, battering Medvedev into submission with startling ease. By the end, Medvedev looked a learner to Djokovic’s grandmaster. Novak had taken the apparent trend of the younger players coming on at the end of 2020 and twisted it into a knot.
Nadal, who was struggling with a back issue, suffered a shock loss to Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. He had cruised through the first two sets, but couldn’t close out the match in a tight third, and from there, wasn’t quite strong enough to hold off a near-perfect Tsitsipas. (Though he did come close, saving two match points, one with a bold return winner, in the last game.) Still, Tsitsipas had fallen in straight sets to Medvedev one round later, who then capitulated to Djokovic in the final.
And the thing was, Djokovic was compromised. In the third round, against Taylor Fritz, Novak cruised through two sets, then slipped mid-point and suffered an ab tear. He had to play a fifth set to get past Fritz, then looked clearly hampered against Milos Raonic and Zverev in his next two matches (Djokovic being Djokovic, he won both in four). But by the semifinals, it was as if the injury had never happened. Novak mowed down Aslan Karatsev in the last four, then pulverized Medvedev in a final that was supposed to be competitive. Even when he was hurt, he was dominating the Australian Open.
Djokovic’s win showed that more than great tennis was required to be a consistent top player—motivation had to be unfailingly high. I’ve mentioned earlier in this work that Novak had struggled with his motivation after periods of dominance, but that’s only by his godlike standards. Letting your focus wander a bit after winning 12 major titles is not exactly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Dominic Thiem’s shifted after one, the fulfillment of his childhood dream resulting in some burnout. A brutal wrist injury crippled his skyrocketing career from there. To be at Djokovic and Nadal’s level, you had to have mind-bendingly high aspirations, then the mental fortitude to remain a servant to those aspirations even after you’d achieved them. No one was up to the task.
There were concerns about Nadal, especially his physicality, but Djokovic winning the title maintained the old guard’s dominance. Besides, any fears over Nadal’s form usually allayed themselves on the clay which he had so mastered. Even before the clay season, he was yet again everyone’s favorite for Roland-Garros.
Thanks so much for reading The Golden Rivalry. Shorter chapter this week—partly because I lost track of time, partly to set up some suspense for the 2021 Roland-Garros semifinal, which we’ll get deep into this weekend! Remember those early chapters that were 4000 words long? I’m getting long in the tooth, just like Novak and Rafa. Still, I’m excited to write about the 2021 Roland-Garros match (which I watched live on TV) and the 2022 Roland-Garros quarterfinal, which I watched in-person. I’ll be able to tell you how I felt during these battles on top of just what happened. (Hope you find that interesting.) See you Sunday! -Owen