PARIS — It has been a chase like no other for Novak Djokovic. For nearly a decade, he has had to deal with Rafael Nadal’s red dust at Roland Garros; had to absorb lopsided defeats and agonizingly close losses; had to push his limits away from Paris to have a chance to solve the Nadal riddle in Paris.
But on a cool, sunlit afternoon in the historic stadium where Nadal became a global star and the greatest clay-court master in history, Djokovic finally reeled him in.
His 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 victory Wednesday was a tennis lesson and a geometry master class, and that it came in the quarterfinals instead of a more decisive round should not diminish the achievement.