Boris Becker once said the fifth set wasn’t about tennis, it was about heart.  There seems no better example than the fifth set of this marathon match that nearly edged six hours.

The fifth set seemed like one of those Rocky movies with Rocky faced against an inhuman opponent, and both players took punches and took punches and how both fought until they could fight no more.  Djokovic seemed the worse for wear, and Nadal seemed like he would come through, looking like he was a bit fresher, and yet Djokovic hung tough on his serve, then managed to get a break on Nadal’s serve to 6-5, and while Djokovic looked like he might win the deciding game, Nadal kept fighting, bringing it back to deuce, and Djokovic fought and took the points he needed, and with a net-clip and an inside out winner by Djokovic, a yell that signaled all the relief of coming through such effort.

And it’s not like Nadal didn’t try.  Nadal was trying to hit harder, be more aggressive, chase down every shot he could, and keep in the match as much as possible.  The match was determined by the slimmest of margin, by one man’s will barely topping another man.

Andy Murray said he found similarities between boxing and tennis and this match was perhaps as much boxing match as tennis.

Up until this point, Djokovic looked like he had found a rhythm, a way to push Nadal around the court.  The first set was sketchy as Djokovic, who had not practiced since his win over Murray, had trouble connecting on shots.  He was hitting a bit long, or a bit wide.  This allowed Nadal to get an early break, and one had to wonder whether Djokovic had the energy to complete the match.  It wasn’t long before Djokovic got the break back.  However, it didn’t last.  Nadal broke Djokovic again to take the first set.

Despite this lead, Djokovic started making progress.  Rather than play really long points, which there were some, Djokovic looked like he want to make Nadal run, and at times, the strategy worked to humming perfection as Djokovic would strike crosscourt deep to Nadal’s backhand, and Nadal would hit a ball deep up the middle, and Djokovic would power the ball inside out, often for a winner.  He would take the second set, 6-4, then continue the pressure, 6-2.

It seemed only a matter of time before Djokovic would close out the fourth, and be that juggernaut.  But Nadal did what he does best.  He fought to stay in the match.  The score was tied, 1-al, then 2-all, then 3-all, then at 3-4, Nadal got down 0-40, but somehow pulled himself out of that game, as the rain started to pour.  The roof was closed in ten minutes, and play resumed, as the match continued.  Again, 5-all, then 6-all.

In the tiebreak, Nadal got to a minibreak early, but Djokovic took two points off Nadal’s serve.  Djokovic couldn’t carry the lead, and lost one mini-break.  Eventually, Nadal was on serve 6-5 in the tiebreak, and Djokovic, in an effort to end the point quickly hit a bit long, and took the tiebreak.

The momentum carried to the fifth set with Nadal breaking for a 4-2 lead, but immediately gave the break back, and two were even until the end, when Djokovic got a final break and fought hard to serve out the match.