Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to advance to the 2022 French Open semi-finals

Rafael Nadal reigned supreme against world number one Novak Djokovic in the 59th meeting between two of Tennis’ greatest rivals to advance to the semi-finals of the 2022 French Open in Paris. The Spaniard beat Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a marathon quarter-final that lasted four hours and 11 minutes and finished in the early hours of the morning on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros.

Tuesday’s meeting between the pair was their third encounter in a row at the French Open, with Nadal beating Djokovic in straight sets in the 2020 Final before the Serbian handed Nadal just his third defeat at Roland Garros in the 2021 semi-finals. The 21-time major winner, however, earned his revenge one year later as he kept his dream of a record-extending 14th French Open title alive with an impressive victory over the number one seed.

Nadal stormed out of the gates and broke Djokovic’s serve in a 10-minute opening game before holding a couple of break points and taking the first set 6-2 as the Serbian struggled with unforced errors on his backhand. Nadal, meanwhile, was playing close to his best tennis on his home court as he sprayed countless forehand winners and quickly took a 3-0 advantage in the second set with another double break.

However, as the night wore on, Djokovic finally started to find his footing. The world number one displayed some of that championship mentality and raised his aggression as he fought back to take the next four games and break Nadal’s serve on three occasions to win a titanic 1 hour 28-minute second set 6-4.

A similar story continued in the third set as Nadal took an early break in the opening game before securing a double break as he dominated the baseline battle. This time around, Djokovic was unable to make a comeback and the world number five comfortably closed out the set to take a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, it was Djokovic who applied the pressure early on, breaking Nadal’s first service game and rushing to a 5-2 lead with an opportunity to serve for the set. The Serbian even had two chances to force a decider, but Nadal saved two set points before breaking Djokovic’s serve and forcing a tie-break, which he comfortably won after taking an early 6-1 lead.

With this victory, Nadal extended his unparalleled record at Roland Garros to 110 wins in 113 matches while also improving his head-to-head record against Djokovic to 29-30. The Spaniard will face world number three Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Friday – who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – and is now just two wins away from securing a monumental 22nd Grand Slam title.