13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 to enter the semi-finals of the French Open.
Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 to reach the semi-finals. The 13-time Roland Garros champion will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev for a place in the final on Sunday.
They have now met 10 times at Roland-Garros alone, and here their head-to-heads are dotted with matches that are widely regarded as some of the best ever played on this surface. Six-time champion Bjorn Borg called his 2013 semi-final the best clay-court match he had ever seen, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9- for Nadal. 7 win.
“He showed why he’s a great champion. You know, being there mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did,” a stunned Djokovic said during the post-match press conference.
“Congratulations to him and his team. No doubt he deserved it… I lost to a better player today.”
Djokovic entered the match with a 30-28 lead over Nadal in a head-to-head, but stunned the 13-time Roland-Garros champions 2-7 in his happiest hunting ground.
It’s a trend that has been slowly turning in Djokovic’s favor in recent years: the Serbian lost his only Roland-Garros quarterfinal loss to Nadal in 2015, and his only semifinal loss last year.
“He was a better player, I think, at crucial moments,” Djokovic said. “I was gaining momentum as I kept coming back into the second set, managed to win the second set, and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m back in the game’.
“But then at the start of the third he had two, three great games. He was able to take his tennis to another level, especially the moment at the start of all sets, really, except for the fourth.
“In the fourth I had chances. Served for the set, doubles set points. Just a shot or two could have taken me into fifth. Then it’s really anybody’s match.”