Djokovic has a 30-29 lead in the face-off between the big two, but Nadal leads 20-8 on clay Dates: May 22-June 5 Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Coverage: Live text and comments from selected match radio on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app
Rafael Nadal once again proved why he is the best player in the history of the French Open by beating his rival Novak Djokovic in a nightly thriller to reach the men’s singles semifinals.
Nadal, who is looking for a 14th title, got off to a great start and fought the resistance of reigning champion Djokovic to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) at Roland Garros.
Nadal got the win at 1:15 local time after more than four hours on the court.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner now faces third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday.
German Zverev, 25, reached the semifinals for the second year in a row after surviving the reaction of teenager Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday earlier.
“There is only one way to win against Novak: to do the best from the first point to the last,” said Nadal, 35, who thanked the Parisian public for their “love.”
“This is one of those magical nights for me.”
Fifth-seed Nadal’s victory avenged his defeat in the semifinals to Djokovic last year and extended his historic Roland Garros clay court record to 110 wins in 113 games.
The rivalry between the pair is the most enduring in men’s tennis, with Nadal winning his 59th match and he narrowed the gap to 30-29 in the face-off.
“Nadal showed why he is a great champion and he stayed mentally tough. He definitely deserves it,” Djokovic said.
“He was the best player in the important moments, he started well and I didn’t start so well.
“I picked up momentum in the second set and thought I was back in the game. But he was able to take his tennis to another level.”
Analysis
Russell Fuller, BBC Tennis Correspondent
This was an exciting and captivating match with some fierce blows and also human fragility.
The plot twists were numerous and surprising: especially Djokovic faded in a fourth set he had led 5-2.
Maybe the lack of intense matches cost him. After all, he missed the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami and hadn’t played a game in more than three sets since the U.S. Open semifinals in September.
The 29th Christmas victory over Djokovic will only be truly significant if he manages to win the 22nd Grand Slam title. And do not think for a moment that a procedure now even with Djokovic and Alcaraz are out of the draw.
The 35-year-old has spent eight and a half hours on the court in his last two games, and will appreciate an additional day off before Friday’s semi-final.
The fast start pays dividends for Christmas
In front of an adoring crowd, Nadal achieved another memorable victory on the track where he has enjoyed the greatest successes of his career.
Late last year, the Spaniard thought he should retire due to a chronic foot problem and was hampered by the problem at the Italian Open earlier this month.
A stress fracture in his ribs also cost him two months off the season shortly after his 21st major win at the Australian Open.
Despite turning 36 later this week and needing five sets to beat Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday, he deepened his physical and mental reserves to beat first seed Djokovic.
Nadal surprised Djokovic in quick starts in the couple’s two matches at Roland Garros in 2020 and 2021, and although those matches ended in different conclusions, this time he set out to do the same.
The left-hander played magnificently in the first set, nailing Djokovic back on the court and punishing him with a right-footed scorer.
Nadal took advantage of two of his four break opportunities, while saving both from Djokovic, to win a first set of 50 minutes.
Getting 12 winners compared to six unforced errors was a stark contrast to his slow start to the previous round against Auger-Aliassime.
This set the stage for Nadal to finally reach a record number 15 semifinal at Roland Garros.
“It was an emotional night and I still play nights like this,” said Nadal, who won seven of 17 break points and saved eight of 12 for Djokovic.
“But it’s only a quarter-final and I still have a semifinal to come. I’ll stay emotionally stable and prepare for the semifinals.”
Djokovic can’t take chances
Although Nadal has had physical problems, Djokovic’s season has been interrupted by the inability to play in the Australian Open and US tournaments because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion seemed to be heading into top form, winning the title in Rome and then losing no set at Roland Garros for the quarter-finals.
Many had thought that playing the game in colder night conditions would also favor the Serb.
Keeping his level high turned out to be the Christmas problem against Djokovic in last year’s semi-final, but the Spaniard broke again and took a 3-0 lead in the second set.
As temperatures began to drop, Djokovic began to warm up and struggled to regain the 3-3 lead after a sixth game that lasted nearly 19 minutes.
Long matches with few routine delays continued and the set ended up leaning in favor of Djokovic when Nadal made a long right-footed shot in the second set.
“He was the best player in the important moments, he started well and I didn’t start so well,” Djokovic said.
“I picked up momentum in the second set and thought I was back in the game. But he was able to take his tennis to another level.”
Nadal fell in love at the start of the third set and took a 4-1 lead when a double foul by Djokovic was followed by the Serb dragging a cross back.
This was Djokovic’s sixth Christmas break from 15 chances and served for a two-set lead to one with few problems.
Even though it was midnight in Paris and the temperatures were dropping to around 10ºC, few fans decided to leave and many of those who stayed wrapped themselves in blankets.
Djokovic broke up 2-0 early in the quarter, but missed two set points when he served 5-3 and was punished when Nadal nailed a right-footed cross to return the set to serve.
Most of the 15,000 spectators supported Christmas and his patience was rewarded when he dominated the tie-break to achieve an impressive victory.
Nadal led 6-1 at the breaker and grabbed his fourth game point with a line-driven setback before absorbing the acclaim of a jubilant Chatrier.