Rafael Nadal overcomes Novak Djokovic to win French Open quarter-final epic
- Michael Graham
- 1 June 2022
It was Rafael Nadal who came out on top as he and Novak Djokovic battled it out for 59th time.
Rafael Nadal moved into the French Open semi-finals after getting one over on rival Novak Djokovic in the last eight.
Nadal and Djokovic were meeting for an incredible 59th time as they battled it out on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It was a match of numerous momentum swings and absolutely scintillating tennis, but Nadal led from the start and he was able to recover from 2-5 down in the fourth to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
The win keeps alive Nadal's quest for a 14th Roland Garrow title, while it will end up costing Novak Djokovic his world number one spot by June 13.
"Novak is one of the best players in history without doubt so playing against him is always an amazing challenge," Nadal said after the match.
"All the history we have together. Today was another one and to win against Novak there is only one way, to play at your best. Tonight is one of these magic nights for me so I am super happy.
"There is no other place like this one for me. This is the most important court of my career. I feel the love of everyone in Paris, it means everything to me."
Nadal will now face Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals after he beat brilliant young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
Since its beginning, this rivalry has been remarkable! pic.twitter.com/ZStv5virrE
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) May 31, 2022
Zverev will be guaranteed to take the world number one spot if he wins the title, while Medvedev will reclaim it if the German fails.
The quarterfinal has been described as "a dream" by former French Open finalist Alex Corretja, who was covering it for Eurosport.
"The passion these guys showed tonight again it's just amazing," Corretja said.
"It's difficult to describe with words because from the very first point until the end they were hitting the ball as hard as they could, not too many mistakes, only winners - forehands down the line, backhands down the line, good serves, good volleys, good drop shots, what else you can you ask for?
"Just live for the moment because it was like a dream to be here watching this match. Now I understand why Rafa has this statue here."
