Rafael Nadal reached his 15th French Open semi-final after winning a late-night classic against old rival Novak Djokovic in four sets in the early hours of Wednesday.
After a four-hour-and-12-minute quarter-final on a noisy Court, Philippe Chatrier, the 13-time Roland Garros champion, won the pair’s 59th career meeting 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) in their 59th career encounter.
Nadal defeated last year’s champion Djokovic for his eighth win in ten French Open matches, setting up a last-four encounter with third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday.
“I’m in a lot of pain.” It’s a dream come true for me to be able to play here,” Nadal remarked. “For me, this sensation is fantastic.
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“It’s always an incredible challenge to play against him… There is only one way to beat Novak: play your best from the first point to the last.”
Since his 2005 title-winning debut on the Paris clay, the 35-year-old has only lost three of his 113 encounters, behind Djokovic 30-29 in their career head-to-head.
After winning this year’s Australian Open, which Djokovic missed due to his Covid vaccination status, the seeded Spaniard is on track for a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam championship.
Djokovic came back from a two-break deficit in the second set to win in 88 minutes, but he wasted two set chances while serving for the fourth to force a decider.
While he waits till Wimbledon to add to his 21 Grand Slam titles, the world number one will lament those squandered opportunities.
“Congratulations to Rafa; he played better in the crucial moments,” Djokovic remarked.
“He demonstrated why he is such a tremendous champion.” Congratulations to him and his team; he deserves it.”
After being pushed to five sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime in the previous round, Nadal entered the match as a small underdog.
The night session’s cooler, slower conditions were also predicted to favor Djokovic.
But the ‘King of Clay’ delighted the fans by smashing 57 wins in a signature display, avenging his semi-final defeat to the same opponent a year ago.
