After consistent results at notable tournaments in the past 15 months, Novak Djokovic had a chance to become world no. 2 for the first time in Hamburg in 2008. Facing the king of clay Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, Djokovic gave everything in 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 loss after three hours and three minutes.





Rafa prevailed with a strong performance in the decider, although he had to dig deep for every point to emerge at the top and remain on the title course. Nadal took only five points more than Djokovic and defended 15 out of 19 break chances to stay in touch.


The Spaniard crossed the finish line with five return games on his tally, recovering after the second set and emerging at the top. Two great rivals hit a similar number of winners, and Novak stood above Rafa in the forced errors department.Nonetheless, the Serb squandered that lead in the unforced errors segment, spraying too many of those, often in the pivotal moments, to propel Spaniard into the title clash against world no. 1 Roger Federer. The match goes on under the roof of Centre Court, and Novak earned first break chances with a volley winner in game two.


He forced the Spaniard's error to grab an early break and settle into a nice rhythm. Finding his range, Djokovic placed a forehand down the line winner in game three to cement the advantage, winning 14 of the opening 18 points.Nadal trailed 30-0 in the fourth game and looked powerless against a determined opponent. Rafa erased two break chances and brought the game home to get his name on the scoreboard. Novak wasted game points at 3-1 and lost serve when Rafa landed a forehand down the line winner.