Rafael Nadal Tops Novak Djokovic In Quarterfinals As He Eyes 14th French Open, 22nd Grand Slam Title

Only time will tell the ultimate significance of the latest match between two of the all-time greats in men’s tennis.

If Rafael Nadal goes on to win an incredible 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam crown — putting him two ahead of Novak Djokovic in the all-time Slams category — their latest encounter may prove to be the watershed.

For now, No. 5 seed Nadal has advanced to the semifinals of Roland Garros by virtue of his 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over the world No. 1 in match that lasted 4 hours, 12 minutes and ended at 1:15 a.m. Paris time Wednesday. It lasted one minute longer than their 4-hour, 11-minute semifinal won by Djokovic in four sets a year ago.

“It has been a very emotional night for me. I’m still playing for nights like today,” Nadal, who won his 21st major title at the Australian Open in January, said in his post-match press conference. “But it’s just a quarterfinal match, no? So I didn’t win anything. So I just [need to] give myself a chance to be back on court in two days, play another semifinals here in Roland Garros. [It] means a lot to me.”

Nadal-Djokovic seems more suited for the final, or perhaps a semifinal, than the quarters, but Roland Garros officials seeded Nadal, the 13-time champion, No. 5 in acordance with his ranking.

No matter his draw, his chronic left foot injury or his recent talk of posssible retirement, Nadal keeps rolling in Paris. The “King of Clay” improved to 110-3 at Roland Garros and will meet No. 3 Alexander Zverev on his 36th birthday in Friday’s semifinals — not the 19-year-old sensation Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal is 6-3 against Zverev, 4-1 on outdoor clay courts.

Djokovic, the defending champion in Paris, had not lost a set entering the quarterfinal. But he has now gone three Slams since winning his 20th major at last summer’s Wimbledon. He lost in the final of the U.S. Open to Daniil Medvedev while seeking the calendar Grand Slam and was then deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open for not being vaccinated against Covid-19.

“It might be the tipping point match that determines who will be considered the greatest player of all time,” former world No. 1 Jim Courier said on Tennis Channel before the match. “If Nadal somehow wins and goes on to win 22 and Djokovic never gets there, that could be the decider.

“You just don’t know.”

The 59th encounter between the two legends was full of history. It marked the first match in the Open Era featuring two men with 20+ majors, 1,000 match wins and 300 wins in majors.

Djokovic still leads the all-time head-to-head 30-29, but Nadal leads 11-7 in majors and 8-2 at Roland Garros.

In the decisive fourth-set tiebreak, Nadal raced out to a 3-0 lead, getting an early mini-break and then smacking a down-the-line forehand winner to make it 3-0.

When Djokovic attempted a drop shot that hit the net, Nadal seized a commanding 6-1 lead in the breaker.

Djokovic saved three match points, but with Nadal serving at 6-4, the Spaniard ended a rally with a backhand winner up the line. He met Djokovic at the net and then raised his hands in celebration to the roaring crowd.

“He showed why he’s a great champion,” Djokovic said. “Staying there mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did. Congrats to him and his team. No doubt he deserved it.”

Djokovic is usually the one who controls the tempo of a match, but he was on defense from the start and got behind in each of the first two sets as Nadal came on like a tidal wave and looked to end points early by ripping his forehand up the line. The Spaniard capitalized on a slew of break points (7-for-17).

Djokovic showed signs of frustration during the match. At one point, he yelled at fan to “Shut the f*** up” after the fan was apparently talking during a point.

Later he smacked his racquet on the net when a point did not go his way.

Nadal entered having spent two-and-a-half more hours on court and routinely noted that his chronic left foot injury makes him walk with a limp “on many days of my life.” He even said this week that “Every match could be my last at Roland Garros.”

Still, after winning the first set 6-2, Nadal zoomed ahead 3-0 in the second by chasing down a drop shot and calmly hitting a backhand winner into the open court.

But Djokovic overcame a double-break in the second set and rallied to win it when Nadal smacked an inside-out forehand long while serving at 4-5.

Nadal took a 4-1 double-break lead in the third when Djokovic sailed a backhand wide during a rally.

Serving at 5-2, Nadal took the set when Djokovic smacked a crosscourt forehand wide.

In the fourth set, Djokovic scored an early break when Nadal attempted a crosscourt drop shot that he thought was in, but was called out by the umpire.

The Serb served for the fourth set at 5-3, but Nadal hung tough and earned a break with a tremendous inside-out forehand winner as the crowd roared in approval.

“Of course we have a lot of history together,” Nadal said. “A lot of important moments playing against each other. That’s the truth. In that case, [it] always is a special match, playing against Novak.

“Tonight [was] just a quarter-final match, not the final… But still a super classic match and in a big scenario. Between Novak, Roger [Federer], myself — we have an amazing story together facing each other in the most important matches for such a long time. So that makes things more special and more emotional.”