The year was 2007, and the domination of Novak Djokovic hadn’t yet begun. It was the Miami Masters where he caused a massive upset by beating the then World No.2, Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. In 2007, it was called the Sony Ericsson Open, and Djokovic won the tournament, marking his first-ever Masters title victory. Djokovic faced many tough opponents in that tournament, but none tougher than Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final.
Not only did Nadal lose, causing a massive upset, Djokovic didn’t even allow the competition to be close. He won 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets, leaving the aggressive and powerful striker, Nadal in bemusement. This was the third time Djokovic and Nadal met in any ATP Tour match. It was just the start of a long, famous, and enduring rivalry between these two Big Three players.
Since Djokovic hadn’t won any Grand Slams until then, this win marked the first big win of his career. Nadal was World No.2 then, and Djokovic was World No.10 in ATP rankings. They were seeded accordingly. The nature of the upset was grander, when considered that 20-year-old Nadal was playing in his 9th ATP Masters Tour, and had won 6 of the previous 8 tournaments. On the other hand, it was 19-year-old Djokovic’s second-ever ATP Masters appearance.
Djokovic, undoubtedly, made better use of the conditions in Miami, which was a harder and quicker surface that suited his powerful strokemaking more than Nadal’s game. Nadal was more reliant on tactically maneuvering opponents by slowing down the game with rallies.
The 2007 Miami Masters QF was the beginning of the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry. The reason is that just 10 days prior to that, they played each other in the finals of the Indian Wells. That was their first-ever ATP Tour meet, but Nadal won that match quite comfortably, 6-2, 7-5 in the end. That was the expected result, and hence, fans weren’t sure if a rivalry was in the store yet or not.
Djokovic’s reversal of fortune in just 10 days, was a result of him working hard on his game. He learned from his mistakes, how to read Nadal better, how not to make unforced errors, and how to be quick on one’s feet to match up Nadal’s speed and agility. All of these bore fruitful results, as he not only beat Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters but also went on to win the competition.
After Nadal in the quarter-final, Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, another tough opponent, in the semi-final by 6-1, 6-0. By this time, Djokovic was on another plane. He beat Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets and took home the trophy. This was the first of many times that Djokovic and Nadal played two back-to-back matches in ATP Tours.
At the Miami Masters, Novak Djokovic was the man responsible for denying Rafael Nadal 3 titles there as he also beat the Spaniard in the finals in 2011 and 2014 too. Nadal has never won a title there in his otherwise distinguished career spanning more than 2 decades now. On the other hand, Djokovic has won the Miami Masters 6 times, an all time men’s singles tennis record he shares with the legendary Andre Agassi.
They would only keep leveling up each other’s game and become the greatest players in the future. They have met 59 times in their careers, and their head-to-head stands at 30-29, with Djokovic in the slight lead.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both out of the Miami Masters 2024
First, it was Rafael Nadal’s shock exit from the Indian Wells 2024 in the eleventh hour. He was already decisive about bowing out of Miami Masters. Now, days after Djokovic’s shocking loss to Luca Nardi in Indian Wells 2024, he has also opted out of Miami Masters 2024.
With these twin exits hogging all the news, the Miami Masters 2024 is now wide open for the likes of Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, and Carlos Alcaraz to win. Or, it could be the new, up-and-coming stars like Ugo Humbert, Marcos Giron, Luca Nardi, Jiri Lehecka, etc.
This will be the fourth year in a row that both Djokovic and Nadal decided not to participate in the Miami Open. They both have been missing for some reason or another, such as Nadal due to injuries, or Djokovic due to not being allowed to enter the States due to COVID-19 vaccination rules.
