OK now that the clay court season is over I thought I would do a review of my favourite matches from the clay court season of which there were plenty to choose from but here are the ones I've gone with, so let's have a look...
5. Mutua Madrid Open, Grigor Dimitrov d. Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
If there was ever a match that heralded the arrival of a special new talent to the game then it was this one as it brought the very promising Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov to the forefront. In Monte Carlo, Dimitrov already showed some great form against Rafa as he pushed him to three sets before falling to king of clay. But here Dimitrov was surely determined to go one better, as he battled it out against Djokovic for over three hours, and he started by taking the opening set on a tense tiebreak. In the 2nd set play went by serve again to another even more intense tiebreak which saw the world No.1 dig deep to grab the set and push play into a decider. However in the 3rd set it was Dimitrov who seized the moment and went on to serve out an incredible match with the win of his career against the world No.1 which saw Dimitrov really arrive on the scene after so much promise, here it started to really show.
4. French Open 1st round, Gael Monfils d. Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5.
This first round match at the French Open saw the resurgance of Gael Monfils back on the tour, and this was quite a remarkable match in itself. Monfils who has been plagued with injury throughout his career was up against the 5th seed, Tomas Berdych, who looked to be the hot favourite to win here. However Monfils came out firing and soon took a two sets to love lead, however it wasn't long before Berdych went on to mount his own comeback and he levelled play by taking the 3rd and 4th sets on a tiebreak. In the 5th set both players played some great points and despite Berdych being the odds on favourite having levelled, it was Monfils that made the crucial break at 5-5, he moved ahead and went on to serve out a terrific match in front of a rapturous home crowd. This was a great match and with the home crowd right behind Monfils it had a great atmosphere, and Monfils himself showed here what a great player he can be, and despite sustaining a 3rd round loss to Tommy Robredo in the French, Monfils has shown he is well back on track if he maintains the form he showed at the French Open.
3. French Open 4th round, Roger Federer d. Gilles Simon, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
In another home hope encounter at Roland Garros, we had Roger Federer take on Gilles Simon in this memorable 4th round match which took place on Court Philippe Chatrier in front of an enthralled full capacity crowd. The match however didn't start off like much as Federer easily took a comfortable lead in winning in the opening set 6-1. But that all changed in the 2nd set after Federer took a fall on the court, although he wasn't injured, it knocked him off his game long enough for Simon to start playing his own, as the Frenchman started to really impose himself on the Swiss by taking a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set, Roger was staring down the barrell but he dug deep and broke Simon twice to level proceedings. In the 5th set Roger managed to get the early break and pushed Simon for another, but the Frenchman hung tough to keep it to the single break after a terrific and gutsy game at 3-1. And when Roger tried to serve out the match, he faced one last hurrah from Simon as Rog was forced to stave off two break points, before he finally closed out the match 6-3 in the 5th. This was a terrific match and one of the real highlights of the French open and the crowd on court Philippe Chatrier produced a great atmosphere as they got behind Roger and Simon in almost equal measure at times. They also rather nicely had an on court interview with both players afterwards with the plucky Simon getting a well earned cheer as he walked off, while Roger went on to his 36th consecutive grand slam quarter final. Not too bad eh??
2. French Open 4th round, Stanislas Wawrinka d. Richard Gasquet, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6.
If you had to pick a match from the French open this year with the greatest atmosphere behind it, you would have to go for this one, which saw an all out epic battle take place on court Suzanne Lenglen between the French No.2, Richard Gasquet who looking to reach his first ever quarter final at the French, and Stan Wawrinka. And Gasquet made a strong start as he took a two sets to love lead, and it looked very likely he would reach the last eight, however Stan was not yet done as he managed to grab a break to take the 3rd set. And from here Stan made a very impressive comeback and went on to level the match and take it into a 5th, where play went by serve and both men produced some amazing tennis for the estatic crowd. However unfortunately for Gasquet, he started to feel the effects of cramp set in and at 6-7, fatigue started to hit as he finally fell to Stan who fired a forehand winner down the line to end Gasquet's campaign. There was no doubt that this match was one of the undisputed highlights of the French Open, and given that Gasquet had never reached the last eight at his home slam, its was a real shame that he was denied here. As for Stan well it was an incredible effort especially as he came from two sets to love down to win, which he did two years ago at the French Open to beat Tsonga in the 3rd round. So overall it was one of the best of the year.
1. French Open semi final, Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7
Well this match really had to be at the top of the list as it was easily one of the greatest matches to have been played at Roland Garros in quite some time. And here Novak Djokovic was absolutely desparate to win the French Open and defeat Rafa for the first time in his career. And for quite a while it looked like Nole was going to do just that as he really took it Rafa throughout the match. The two men shared the first two sets, but Rafa took the 3rd to take a 2 sets to 1 lead, as Djokovic looked curiously out of sorts. In the 4th set, Nole regrouped and as he stared down the barrel having gone a break down at 5-6, he managed to find that bit extra and fought back to push the match into a 4th set tiebreak whic he won 7-3. And Nole took the initiative by breaking Rafa early on, and it looked like he was ready to do the unthinkable by beating the king of clay on his home turf. However Nole at 4-3 made the fatal mistake of trying to play an overhead smash when he lost his balance and tripped into the net which lost him the point by default, which brought up a break point, which soon saw Rafa break back to level 4-4. Play went by serve until Rafa had made it 8-7, and it was Nole's turn but here it was Rafa that made his move and held onto his crown by breaking serve to win an epic match in 4 hours and 37 minutes.
There was no doubt that this was the best clay court match of the season and one of the great classics at the French open and neither player could have put more into this one. And it would be tough not to feel sorry for Djokovic who was so desperate to win the title and beat Rafa in the process, and had they met in the final who knows what might have happened. However this match does indicate that Novak will have his chances to win again in the future as no other player has taken Rafa the distance (apart from John Isner) at the French and especially not at the business end of the tournament either. So we might just see Djokovic make that breakthrough at the French just like Rafa did against Roger at Wimbledon, so hopefully next year third time will be a charm. But until then Rafa proved that he is still undisputed king on the clay and it will take an almighty effort to knock off that spot.
So thats it for my look at my pick of the best clay court matches of 2013.
More to follow on the tour soon.
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