Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: The Rivalry To Displace Fedal?

 Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's rivalry isn't new. They had met 21 times before meeting in the finals of the US Open . But this was the first time they had met in the finals of a Grand Slam. Many had been expecting a Fedal final. They had been awaiting an answer to whether Roger could get the better of his young nemesis called Nadal and prove to his detractors that he was not only still the King on this bit of real estate but also still in with a good chance to recover his no 1 ranking. If Roger failed, then the young challenger would make history by achieving a Career Grand Slam, simultaneously proving he could better Federer on any surface.

But alas ,Djokovic played the party pooper,defeating Federer in the semi-finals. But those who watched the semifinals objectively saw a most extraordinary match. Federer was playing well.He had met Djokovic 3 times in the US open, in the finals of 2007 and in the semifinals in the last two years. All the three times,Djokovic had fought well but the Maestro had bested him. But finally, the day had come for the Swiss genius to lose to the younger player. 

With Federer exiting ,it seemed it was time for the Fedal rivalry to go backstage and another rivalry, hanging around in the wings for sometime, to occupy center stage.

The final showcased the new Grand Slam rivalry.The two best players on the planet fighting each other.Both fleet of foot ,sending forth unbelievable shots and retrieving balls which should have been winners.For 3 hours and 43 minutes, they put on a show of athletism and tennis skills which could scarce have been surpassed. Nadal was in formidable form and it certainly seemed that had Federer made it to the finals ,his defeat could have been the rout it had been in the French Open '08. If Novak had not decided it was his time in the sun and finally got the better of the Maestro, then the Fedal final would have taken place. After the final, there would have been a vacuum. Nadal,the King of all surfaces with nary a challenger in sight ! Fortunately for us, a supremely talented player of Nadal's generation had finally stepped up to the plate. 

The Nadal-Djokovic rivalry is more appropriate than a Fedal rivalry at this point in time. In the Fedal rivalry, it was Fed who was the king and Nadal who was the challenger. In the Nadal era which has begun ,it is Nadal who is the king and it seems fitting for somebody of his age or younger, not the deposed king, to pick up the gauntlet. 

The quality of the fight in the finals can be gauged by the number of break points for Nadal : a phenomenal 26 showing how relentlessly he had attacked his opponent's serve . And what was equally an indicator of the quality of the match was the number of breakpoints saved. Djokovic saved 20 of them! And what's more, he broke Nadal's service 3 times which was more than the number of times Nadal was broken by his previous six opponents combined. Djokovic was the only one in the tournament who managed to take a set off Nadal.

Djokovic's talent had always been obvious but he had seemed to lack the determination and the energy of a champion.But on the 11^th of September and again on the 13th ,we saw Djokovic display tremendous guts and spirit.

If this immensely talented player goes further and keeps improving as Nadal has been doing, it is only a matter of time before we would be unable to predict who would get the better of whom in their inevitable matchups in the future thereby providing for a compelling rivalry.

After the incredible battle, it was heartwarming to see how Djokovic embraced the victor,quite in contrast to the almost perfunctory way Verdasco had acknowledged Nadal (supposedly close to him) after his quarter final defeat at the hands of the World No 1. Djokovic displayed graciousness of a very high order, giving us hope for a rivalry with everything in the mix,supreme talent,incredible spirit , modesty and grace.