As the sun set on the beautiful Foro Italico, the replica alabaster statues mute witnesses to a glorious past and an uncertain future, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic edged in front of their absent friends, Andy Murray and Roger Federer, a week before the French Open.
Federer, who was creaking a little on the hard courts of America after his astounding performance at the Australian Open, where he beat Marin Cilic to win his 20th slam title, decided to rest rather than suffer the rigours of clay in anticipation of another tilt at Wimbledon glory. But, as he approaches his 37th birthday, even his remarkable longevity must surely soon be stretched to the point of incredulity.
Whether Murray, who turned 31 this week, even makes it to the line at the All England Club is up for speculation again, with further locker-room talk this weekend that his recovery from hip surgery in January remains worryingly stalled. His chances of returning on the grass of Rosmalen in the Netherlands the day after the French Open final are rated “poor” to “marginal”, according to sources.
Nadal, meanwhile, is rampant. He reaches for an eighth Italian Open title on Sunday, after beating Djokovic 7-6 (4), 6-3 in front of a packed Campo Centrale in just under two hours of some of the best tennis of the season. His aura on the dirt is undiminished – in fact, it is consolidated to the point that he is a raging favourite to win an 11th French Open.
Victory in his 10th Rome final would put him back at No 1 in the world ahead of Federer, while Djokovic has surged again to somewhere near the form that won the Serb 12 grand slams, including the 2016 French Open. Regardless of the rankings, they are the two most dangerous players on clay at this moment.
In the women’s final, the world No 1, Simona Halep – who outlasted Maria Sharapova over two hours and 23 minutes to win a brutal match 4-6, 6-1, 4-6 – will play the No 4 seed, Elina Svitolina, who turned away the reduced challenge of Anett Kontaveit, 6-4, 6-3, in a less demanding hour and a quarter in the first semi-final. Halep showed impressive resilience after a disturbing mid-match dip – and was soundly reminded of her responsibilities by her Australian coach, Darren Cahill – but there was still a great deal of fire to be seen in Sharapova’s game. Both will be threats at Roland Garros.
Earlier, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares got off to the perfect start in the first doubles semi-final, Robert Farah double-faulting on the first point and dropping his serve to love. However, the Colombian and his compatriot, Juan Sebastián Cabal, got on top of the Scotland-Brazil combination to take the first set and went on to win 7-6 (4), 3-6, 10-8.
The focus of the day, though, remained fixed on Nadal and Djokovic. “I miss this feeling, I have to admit,” Djokovic said of the buzz he got from the high-quality contest, the crowd and his reinvigorated tennis. “I haven’t had that in a while. Looking back two or three months, this is the best that I’ve felt on the court, by far. But he was the better player. I don’t think that there was too much of a difference, which is great news for me, because Rafa is, of course, the best player ever to play tennis on clay. And he’s in great, great form.”
Nadal celebrated his 25th win over Djokovic a year after the 50th meeting of their rivalry with glowing praise for the Serb, and no little empathy. “I don’t have any doubt that, if Novak wants to play, he will be back at his best,” he said when asked who he fears most in Paris. “He is too good to not be there.”
Reflecting on Djokovic’s struggle with injury and his apparent tiredness towards the end of this match, he said: “We can’t forget that he came back from a long injury. And it’s difficult to be back. The first set was tough. It’s normal to be tired. And, when you are able to do things without thinking that much, then you are less tired. I think he’s ready for Roland Garros.”
As for his own game, he is roaring again after the brief interruption of defeat by Dominic Thiem in Madrid last week, which snapped a remarkable record sequence of 50 unbeaten sets on clay. “I played with the right determination,” Nadal said. “The important moments later, in the tie-break, I think I played aggressive with my forehand. In the second set, in some important moments, too, [that] was the key.”
As it has been for a couple of months. Nadal may not make any impact of note on the grass of Wimbledon but he remains peerless on clay. He now plays Alexander Zverev, the brilliant young German who beat Cilic 7-6 (13), 7-5 in the second semi in just over two hours – 26 minutes of which were in the tie-break. It should be some final. Zverev smashed one of his rackets to smithereens, energy he would be better advised reserving for his booming serve against Nadal.
