Novak Djokovic: You Have to Accept That He's Better, Says Rafa

I love Rafa Nafal when he's losing.

OK, I'm lying, I hate watching Rafa lose.  

On the other hand, some of the best moments in tennis, in recent memory, have come at the conclusion of a match that Rafa lost—the satisfying ones where he gave everything out there.

Of his 2009 French Open loss to Robin Soderling he famously said in his awkward but poetic English that a catastrophic loss makes you appreciate your victories all the more.

(His comments stood out in stark contrast to the remarks of former Cavaliers player LeBron James, who stalked off the court when his team lost in the playoffs, refused to shake anyone's hand, and refused to talk to the media.)

Today Rafa said, probably to his fans by way of the media, of today's loss to Novak Djokovic, that "you have to accept that Novak is better..."

This is beautiful.  Because after years of a scintillating rivalry that produced great tennis, but which Rafa often pulled it out at the end of long grueling sets, Novak has demonstrated the fitness, the technique, and most importantly from my perspective, the mental tenacity to prove himself the better Nadal now in three straight Master's Series finals.

Novak showed that he's got an impregnable game.  He made Rafa miss after so many of those long rallies, something we are used to seeing Rafa do to others.

With all due respect to Roger Federer, this is the kind of tennis I like to see.  Long rallies.  Impossible shots. The virtuosity of strength, patience, and all-court variability. Tennis outside the doubles alley (Accompanied by noisy grunts!).  

And frankly, its a pleasure to see these guys, in their prime, rise to the challenge of each other, and play the best tennis we are seeing out there.  Domination is boring.  You want to know, going into a tournament, that the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. Competition is good for the sport, if not for players that want to keep growing their game.

So this was fun.

I'm lying, I hate to see Rafa lose.

I look forward to many more installments between this pair of champions, even if Rafa never figures out a gameplan against Novak.