I liked how much Djokovic wanted this one
Novak came perilously close to shirt-ripping territory in his post-win celebration. I was a little surprised by that, but I guess I shouldn’t have been. Any win over Rafa on clay is worth whooping it up for, especially one in a place where he hasn’t lost in 10 years. Plus, that place just happens to be where Djokovic lives and practices much of the time. Novak has now won every Masters event other than Cincinnati, and has wins over Nadal in the finals of the three held on clay, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome—something to shout about, for sure.
We can get so pre-occupied in tennis with the Slams, calling them the only tournaments that matter, that we forget how much any title means to a competitive athlete, even one like Djokovic who targets the majors. I had thought in Indian Wells and Miami that he might be struggling to find motivation for the non-Slams, but that certainly wasn’t the case in Monte Carlo. He decided to play despite a bad ankle, a bad ankle that might have hurt his preparation for Roland Garros. As he held the cup yesterday, Djokovic said it felt like the best decision of his life, and his giddy grin told you he meant it. Then he got to walk home with the trophy. There’s a lesson in that for the rest of us—play for the moment, and you’ll play your best.
Yet it’s impossible to escape the next question: What does this match mean for the French Open? It obviously helps Djokovic. Two years ago, he was the clay insurgent, but in 2012 Nadal, bound and determined to defeat his rival, reclaimed the initiative. Now Djokovic knows what he has to do, and how he has to play, to turn that table back around again; most important, he knows he can turn it. As for Rafa, he doesn’t get his usual kick start to the clay season, but he didn't play badly on Sunday. And there’s always Barcelona, which begins today and which he has won seven times. Only one thing is for sure right now: By the time we get to Paris, the landscape will look different than it does at this moment. There are two more clay Masters events to go, and maybe two more matches between Djokovic and Nadal.