Not so long ago, when fans and commentators said they were hoping for a "dream final," they had a Nadal vs Federer match in mind. No longer. 2011's version is Nadal vs. Djokovic, but for a set and a half of today's second Madrid semi, between Novak Djokovic and Thomaz Bellucci, it looked like the final would be played between two lefties.
If you go only on the stats, you might think this 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Djokovic win was a sloppy affair: Bellucci finished with 22 winners and 37 unforced errors to Djokovic's 15 to 32 ratio. But to my eyes, this was compelling ATP power-baseline, clay-court tennis, with both players using the entire court to defend and attack. Simple winners were rare, and most points required a combination of shots to force an opening.
Bellucci is a spellchecker's nightmare, and after breaking Djokovic at love midway through the second set it looked as though he was going to cause the Serb to wake up screaming for the next few nights. Bellucci doesn't hit the ball with the vicious amount of spin Nadal applies—who does?—but he played composed and intelligent clay court tennis, pinning Djokovic time and time again deep in his deuce corner with quality, two-handed backhands.
Djokovic had to come through a tough three-setter against David Ferrer last night, and he could have been forgiven if he'd shown up today without much gas in the tank. Instead, perhaps because he was getting some good looks at Bellucci's serve as the second set went on, he kept playing positively. Djokovic leveled the score at 3-3, then broke to take the set with a forehand volley putaway after Bellucci tried to be too cute with a wrong-footing lob.
That winner came at the end of a 26-shot rally, and there were several lung busters that went well beyond the 20 shot mark. Perhaps the point of the match was a 34-shot rally in the third game of the third set. Djokovic had made an early break, but now faced break point himself: the two men switched several times between offense and defense as the point wore on, but in the end Bellucci sliced a backhand into the net, and Djokovic consolidated his break. At the changeover, Bellucci was taped for a twinge in his groin, and although he continued to battle, he was now the one firing a long way uphill. A second break for the Serb and a love hold put him into his third Masters final in a row against Nadal.
It's been 37 matches since Nadal lost on clay; it's been 33 matches since Djokovic lost on any surface. Tomorrow we have the 2011 ATP version of Thunderdome—"Two men enter, one man leaves."
—Andrew Burton