Tag: kingdom

Rafael Nadal has owned Roland Garros for nearly all of his career. Whether Novak Djokovic can take over the lease on Sunday afternoon depends on two factors: the Spaniard’s desire and the Serb’s neck.

© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

Through six matches there has been no sign of the champion’s will waning, as he has battled to win every set. Whether Djokovic’s body – particularly that area stretching down from the top of his spine to the tips of his fingers – can hold up under championship pressure is less certain, whatever the strength of his fightback to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas over five sets in the second semi-final on Friday night. Nadal’s earlier dismissal of Diego Schwartzman had its anxious moments, but there was little doubt he would prevail.

© Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal’s dismissal of Diego Schwartzman in the semi-final had its anxious