A couple of weeks after their epic Roland Garros semi-final clash, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met in the same round of the Canada Masters in Montreal 2013. Nadal prevailed over a great rival to advance into the final and remain on the title course.
Starting the year a bit later due to an injury suffered in the previous season, Nadal was among the players to beat between February and September. He embraced an incredible run and became a contender for the ATP throne. Rafa lost to Novak in the Monte Carlo final before conquering Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.
The Spaniard experienced an early loss at Wimbledon and headed to Montreal eager for a much deeper run. Nadal prevailed over Jerzy Janowicz and advanced into the semi-final. He met a two-time defending Canada Open champion and world no.
1 Novak Djokovic in a battle for the final.
Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the deciding tie break in Montreal 2013.
It was their first meeting on hard court since that epic 2012 Australian Open final, and Nadal prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 after two and a half hours to reach the title clash.
Rafa’s previous win over Novak on hard came at the 2010 ATP Finals, waiting almost three years to secure the next one. The Spaniard had to dig deep to earn it, winning two points more than the Serb and staying composed in the decisive moments.
Rafa defeated Novak for the 21st time in 36 encounters. Nadal lost serve two times and delivered the same number of return games, prevailing in the pivotal moments to reach the final. Djokovic had a couple of winners more than Nadal, who forced more mistakes from his opponent and erased the deficit.
Also, they remained neck and neck in the shortest and more advanced rallies to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats from start to finish. Novak hit a double fault in the encounter’s opening game to suffer a break. He wasted three break chances in the next one to push Rafa 2-0 in front.Nadal landed an ace in the sixth game to stay ahead and opened a 5-2 gap when Djokovic hit another double fault.
Serving for the set, Rafa got broken for the first time, allowing Novak to reduce the deficit to 5-4 with a service winner in game nine. Nadal made no errors in the next one, placing a smash that Djokovic could not control to secure the opener 6-4.
Novak served much better in the second set and prolonged the eighth game despite being 40-0 down. Rafa wasted game points and got broken in the next one following a backhand error to push the rival ahead. Serving for the set at 5-3, Novak fended off a break chance and fired a service winner to wrap it up and force a decider.
Earning two break chances in the eighth game, Rafa lost four straight points to squander an opportunity to seal the deal earlier. Both players served well until the tie break, and Nadal played better in the decisive moments. He claimed it 7-2 to advance into the title clash.
