Boris Becker: Djokovic has a wafer-thin edge over Murray

The much-anticipated quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was not the gritty, see-sawing clay court classic that everybody was waiting for.

And I am not complaining!

As was clear from the way the game started, the strategy was to come out aggressively and ensure the opponent was forced on the back foot. Novak played sublime tennis in the first few minutes to race to 4-0. But Nadal, being Nadal, found a way back to even things up. Novak was not able to close out the set at 5-3, but finally did so at 7-5.

It was a critical first set and, once that was under Novak’s belt, he produced the tennis that has made him so dominating in the men’s circuit. Before the game, I did have a word with him and, while I can’t really go into the details, one of the points we discussed was that this was as fine an opportunity as any to showcase the extent to which he has improved over the last 12 months.

It has been remarkable how well he handles all surfaces and how far his fitness has progressed. Novak today is a more complete and assured player and this is exactly what he displayed at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Post this defeat, premature obituaries will be written about Nadal, which is unnecessary. He has had injury issues for an extended period of time, but he is only 28 and has some way to go. What’s more, the men’s game needs the genius and charisma of Nadal, and I would like to tell his fans we haven’t seen the last of him.

Similar articles are also doing the rounds about Roger Federer, even though the latter made it to the final of the US Open. For me, these are two exceptional champions who simply cannot be considered as has-beens.

Looking ahead to the semi-finals, it’s going to another great face-off, this time between Andy Murray and Novak.

As mentioned in my last article, Murray’s form in Paris has been quite remarkable. He has always looked a bit out of sorts on clay, but this time around he is enjoying the long rallies and baseline battles. Novak always brings out a combative brilliance in Murray and the last evidence of this was in the Australian Open final.

I would say Novak has a wafer-thin edge in this one, but he will once again have to come out all guns blazing and ensure he does well at the start of the match.

The Swiss army of fans will still be in business, with Stanislas Wawrinka taking on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other semi-final. The latter will, of course, have huge local support, so it will be a lively noisy encounter. Wawrinka was quite unbelievable against his great compatriot on Tuesday and, if he can replicate that form once again, it would be very hard to stop him.

— Gameplan