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Rating: An exhausting battle, epochal, a clash to the last ball and the last drop of physical and mental energy available: a relentless barrage of spectacular ballistic trajectories coming from both sides, in the form of very precise forehands, thrilling backhands, scorching passing shots, lightning aces, improbable drop shots, unexpected lobs, and more: an effectiveness and precision that at times attributed inhuman (robotic?) semblances to the two protagonists on the court, capable of literally making the incredulous spectators in the crowded stands applaud until their hands were raw, as well as those less fortunate glued to the remote (used like a racket on the head of anyone who dared to change the channel) in front of their dilapidated television sets.
Competing in the endless semifinal (four hours of play for a total of three sets), on the gritty red clay, of the Masters 1000 tournament in the capital Madrid were two authentic gladiators of today's oval racket: the Spaniard (from Mallorca, to be precise) Rafael Nadal, for a year at the absolute top of the ATP ranking, and the young Serbian Novak Djokovic: current n° 4 in the world rankings.
A match that to define as thrilling and spectacular is frankly an understatement: beyond any rosy prediction even for enthusiasts well aware of the qualities of both. After a surprising (but not that much) first set in favor of the Serbian (he pocketed the first set with a decisive 6 - 3), the match developed on very fragile balances in which both extracted from their respective hats truly the best (both qualitatively and quantitatively) of their well-known characteristics: tenacity, physical strength, mental endurance, and naturally a great quality in being able to place their shots where the opponent cannot and should not be able to reach.
Nadal, truly a genuine fanatic, despite the insistence (and I reiterate, the quality) of the opponent's shots, thanks to impressive consistency and solidity, first laboriously made it His own with a sumptuous tie-break in the second set [7 - 6], and then, playing to the death against a Djokovic in absolute grace, but still - apparently - a tiny bit below the frenzied Rafa, managed to snatch the third set and the final victory by a hair thanks to an exciting and infinite tie-break (10 to 8), thus advancing by right to the final the next day, which he then sensationally lost (with a double 4-6) against the historic and rejuvenated rival Roger Federer (currently n° 2 in the world).
A match to leave as a spectacular example to posterity and as a memory, naturally, for all enthusiasts and even more so for the skeptics of the spinning yellow ball.
And perhaps also to the increasingly whining Italian tennis players.
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