Ace Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic celebrated his win against arch-rival Rafael Nadal with yet another violin tribute to daughter Tara during the Paris Olympics on Monday. The encounter between the two modern day greats was their 60th meet on tour, with Djokovic coming out on top. He dominated the match right from the beginning.
Djokovic won the first set 6-1 and the second set began in a similar fashion, as Nadal struggled and was 4-0 down in no time. But the latter then mounted a comeback, winning four successive games.
But an edge in fitness and mentality helped Djokovic win the second set 6-4 and thanks to his latest victory over Nadal, he now holds a slender 31-20 head-to-head hold over him.
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After his brilliant win, Djokovic entertained the Roland Garros fans with his violin celebration, similar to his style at Wimbledon last month. He had earlier mentioned that the celebration was a tribute to his five-year-old daughter Tara, who is learning to play the violin.
Djokovic has never won a gold or silver at the Olympics but has a bronze to show from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Nadal bagged the gold that year.
Djokovic said after the match that he felt relieved, as he realised quickly that everything was going his way on the day.
“I’m very relieved because everything seemed to be going my way at 6-1 and 4-0, maybe I felt too comfortable at that moment. At 4-1, I played a regular serve. You can’t give Nadal any chances because he’ll take them, he’ll get back into the match, especially on this court with the crowd involved,” Djokovic said while speaking to Eurosport.
Djokovic said that he found the match against Nadal to be challenging, when the latter was tied at 4-all with him. He will now play Dominik Koepfer in the Round of 16