Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is considered to have mastered the art of hitting double-handed backhands. However, it’s very rare for the Serb to face the same shot. Still, when it’s Rafael Nadal on the other side of the net, you can expect that Novak will meet his match and might not even have answers to the Spaniard’s questions.
A similar incident took place during the 2007 Montreal Open semi-final game between the 22-time and 24-time grand slam champions. A furious rally, started by Rafa’s serve, took place between the two. After a couple of forehands and backhands from both sides, Djokovic hit a stunning forehand which required the Spaniard to run all the way to the side of the court.
However, surprisingly Rafa was just not able to reach the ball but responded to it beautifully as he smashed it with a backhand using both his hands. The shot was so fast that the Serb was left dumbfounded and clueless about what just happened, causing him to miss it and lose the point.
Even today, after 17 years, the shot and incident are being talked about. This shows the greatness of what Rafa did with the ball at that moment. It left not just the crowd but the Serb himself impressed, who lauded Rafa by clapping for him for the shot he hit. Moreover, the shot not only helped Rafa win the point but he was also able to equalize the game count 4-4 in the first set of the game.
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Still, the match ended up in the favour of Novak as he beat Rafa in straight sets. While the first set was pushed to a tiebreak, which was eventually won by the 7-time Wimbledon champion, the second set was dominated by him as he took it away from Nadal’s hands by 6-3.
This propelled Novak to the final of the 2007 Montreal Open, which he eventually won after beating the Swiss legend Roger Federer in the final. It was a 3-set final, in which Novak managed to grab the first set after winning the tiebreak, lost the second set to Roger by 6-2 but eventually took the last set again after beating the Swiss in a tiebreak.
