In a late-night game, the king of clay, Rafael Nadal registered a win over Novak Djokovic to reach his 15th French Open semi-finals. As he seeks his 22nd Grand Slam title, Nadal reclaims his defeat to Djokovic at last year’s French Open. Nadal won 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) to get a step closer to the title.
The duo has a long competitive rivalry. Nadal defeated Djokovic for the eighth time in ten French Open encounters. “I’m very emotional. For me it’s incredible to play here,” said Nadal. “Playing against him is always an amazing challenge. To win against Novak, there is only one way, to play your best from the first point until the last.” Djokovic congratulated his opponent on the victory. He said, “Congratulations to Rafa, he was better in the important moments. He showed why he was a great champion. Well done to him and his team, he deserves it.”
Spot in the semis for Rafael Nadal
Since his 2005 title-winning debut on the Paris clay. He is now only behind Djokovic 30-29 in their career head-to-head. Nadal was a little underdog entering the match. He even intimated that it might be his last participation in Paris owing to a recurrent foot injury. Djokovic was anticipated to benefit from the colder, slower circumstances of the evening session. However, in a classic performance, the ‘King of clay’ crushed 57 wins, delighting the audience.
In what was the 59th matchup between the two, Nadal dominated Djokovic. Rafael Nadal has a lead over Novak in Grand Slam matches, 11-7, in the French Open 8-2 and the US Open 2-1. In the meantime, Djokovic leads the Australian Open 2-0 and Wimbledon 2-1. So far at Roland Garros 2022, defending champion Djokovic has been phenomenal. Yoshihito Nishioka, Alex Molcan, Aljaz Bedene, and Diego Schwartzman have all lost in straight sets to the Serbian. Nadal, on the other hand, recently had a five-set victory over Felix Auger Aliassime. On Friday, Nadal will face Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.
