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PARIS. — Rafael Nadal demonstrated once again why he is the greatest player in French Open tennis history by beating long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a late-night thriller to reach the men’s singles semi-finals on Tuesday.
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 1:15am local time yesterday morning after over four hours on court.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner now faces third seed Alexander Zverev tomorrow.
Germany’s Zverev (25) reached the semi-finals for the second successive year after surviving teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz’s fightback earlier on Tuesday.
And Nadal insisted he still has work to do to win a 14th Roland-Garros despite knocking out Djokovic and said it was “too late” to be playing after their quarter-final ended in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The Spaniard is still on track for a record-extending 22nd men’s Grand Slam title and will face third seed Zverev in the semi-finals on his 36th birthday tomorrow.
Nadal took his head-to-head against defending champion Djokovic at Roland-Garros to 8-2 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) win which finished after 1am local time.
“In the end it has been a very emotional night for me,” said Nadal. “I’m still playing for nights like today.
“But it’s just a quarter-finals match? So I didn’t win anything. I just give myself a chance to be back on court in two days. Playing another semi-finals here in Roland-Garros means a lot to me.”
The match ended in cool conditions under the Court Philippe Chatrier lights, with many fans covering themselves in blankets as the match stretched from May into June.
“It is too late, without a doubt,” said Nadal who had asked not to play in the night session.
“I can’t complain because we have two days off now, but if you only have one day off, or like Zverev had in Madrid, when he had to play the final the next day, then it’s a big issue.
“I understand the other part of the business, without a doubt, that television pays a lot of money.
“We need to find a balance.”
Nadal, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, has struggled in recent weeks with a chronic foot injury.
He said before his match with Djokovic that it could potentially be his last on the Paris clay.
“I don’t know what can happen,” he admitted. “As I said before, I’m gonna be playing this tournament because we are doing the things to be ready to play this tournament, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen after here. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter