When Rafael Nadal Made Novak Djokovic Bend The Knee

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had the ultimate face-off at the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters 2009. With both stars quickly becoming the best in world tennis, this showdown was an opportunity for the fans to watch them at their best levels.

For many, the result of the match was a foregone conclusion. Rafa was brilliant on clay and he had already earned the “King Of Clay” status. More than that, he had won four straight titles at Monte Carlo.

The match was witness to some pretty great rallies as Rafa won 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to claim his fifth successive title. Recently, the Rafa Nadal academy shared a video of one of the brilliant rallies from the match. Let’s find out more about this rally.

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Rafael Nadal displays brilliant agility

The rally was characteristically long given the clay surface. Thus, it was more like a game of chess where the player who could seize the right moment would take away the point.

As the rally stretched on with both players chopping and slashing at the ball, Novak played a pretty well-timed drop shot which looked pretty far away from Nadal reach. However, Rafa ran the fastest than we had seen him run and executed a brilliant return to take away the point.

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The point was very crucial considering how brilliantly the match was poised until that moment. Rafa had taken the first set 6-3 and Novak took the second set 6-3. Novak was leading the first game of the third set 40-30 on Rafael Nadal’s serve. After this shocker, Novak was visibly upset as he kneeled to the ground with a very sad expression.

Of course things would continue to go out of hand for him as Rafa took the set 6-1. Nadal once again proved that his feats on clay were no fluke. Once again the entire world had to bow before the king of clay courts.