French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic in late-night thriller

Djokovic is 30-29 ahead in the head-to-head between the two greats, but Nadal leads 20-8 on clay Dates: 22 May-5 June Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Coverage: Live text and radio commentaries of selected matches across BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app

Rafael Nadal demonstrated once again why he is the greatest player in French Open history by beating long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a late-night thriller to reach the men’s singles semi-finals.

Nadal, going for a 14th title, started superbly and fought off resistance from defending champion Djokovic to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) at Roland Garros.

Nadal secured victory at 1:16am local time after over four hours on court.

The 21-time Grand Slam winner now faces third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday.

Germany’s Zverev, 25, reached the semi-finals for the second successive year after surviving teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz’s fightback earlier on Tuesday.

“To win against Novak there is only one way: to play your best from the first point to the last,” said 35-year-old Nadal, who thanked the Chatrier crowd for showing their “love”.

“This is one of those magic nights for me.”

Victory for Nadal avenged his semi-final defeat by Djokovic last year and extended his all-time record on the Roland Garros clay to 110 wins in 113 matches.

The rivalry between the pair is the most enduring in men’s tennis, with Nadal winning their 59th meeting seeing him narrow the gap to 30-29 in the head-to-head.

“Nadal showed why he is a great champion and stayed mentally tough. No doubt he deserves it,” said Djokovic.

“He was the better player in the important moments, he started well and I didn’t start so well.

“I gained momentum in the second set and I thought I was back in the game. But he was able to take his tennis to another level.”

Fast start pays dividends for Nadal

In front of an adoring crowd, Nadal demonstrated yet again why he is so special on the court where he has enjoyed the greatest successes of his career.

At the end of last year the Spaniard thought he would have to retire because of a chronic foot problem and was hampered by the issue at the Italian Open earlier this month.

A stress fracture of the rib also caused him to miss three months of the season shortly after his record-breaking 21st major win at the Australian Open.

Despite turning 36 later this week, and needing five sets to beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime on Monday, he dug deep into his physical and mental reserves to beat Djokovic.

Nadal blew Djokovic away in fast starts in both of the pair’s matches at Roland Garros in 2020 and 2021 and, although those matches ended in different conclusions, the Spaniard set out to do the same this time.

The left-hander played superbly in the first set, pinning Djokovic back in the court and punishing him with fizzing forehand winners.

Nadal took four of his 12 break opportunities, while saving four of Djokovic’s five, to win a 50-minute opening set.

Hitting 27 winners compared to 12 unforced errors was a complete contrast to his slow start in the previous round against Auger-Aliassime.

That laid the platform for Nadal to eventually go on to record another memorable victory.

“It was an emotional night and I still play for nights like tonight,” said Nadal.

“But it is just a quarter-final and I still have a semi-final to come. I will stay emotionally stable and get ready for the semi-final.”

More to follow.