Nadal Topples Djokovic in Four-Set French Open Thriller, Advances to Semifinal

The clay court maestro inched closer to capturing his 22nd major as he advanced to the French Open semifinal.

In his 59th meeting against rival Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal emerged victorious from a four-hour, 12-minute battle, winning 6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(4) in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open. The result brings their career head-to-head record even closer, with Djokovic leading 30 wins to Nadal’s 29.

The match lasted past 1 a.m. local Parisian time.

WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE MATCH 🙌

After 4 hours and 12 minutes, @RafaelNadal takes down World No.1 Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in another epic encounter of their storied rivalry!

The Spaniard faces Zverev next in the #RolandGarros Semifinals. pic.twitter.com/3JDWvky4y3

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 31, 2022

Nadal is two wins away from capturing his 22nd Grand Slam title, along with his 14th French Open title. He already won the first major of the year in January at the Australian Open, which made him the winningest men’s grand slam winner in tennis history.

The “Big Three,” consisting of Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer, have won 60 of the last 72 grand slams. Additionally, the three of them have held the World No. 1 ranking for 891 weeks out of the last 940. Talk about domination.

Nadal will face No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Thursday for the semifinal.

RAFAEL NADAL, KING OF CLAY 👑🎾

He advances to the French Open semis after defeating Novak Djokovic at #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/EqrlReqmhH

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 31, 2022

Nadal was dominant in the first set, winning 6–2, against Djokovic and ending the World No. 1’s streak of 22 consecutive winning sets. The first set lasted 49 minutes.

6-2 first set for @RafaelNadal over Djokovic! #RolandGarros

Nadal holds a 24-5 record in the rivalry when winning the first set including a 7-2 record at majors. pic.twitter.com/23NRx97xPR

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 31, 2022

To open the second set, Nadal had seven break points against Djokovic before finally winning one and winning the opening game. The game lasted about 18 minutes.

On his SEVENTH break point chance in the game, @RafaelNadal converts and earns yet another break!

The Spaniard is now up a set and a break against Djokovic. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/6rCPJ3De0r

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 31, 2022

Nadal went on to win the next three games of the set, before Djokovic followed by winning four games in a row. The Spaniard was able to win one more game in the second set before Djokovic won 6–4 to tie up the match. The second set lasted two hours and 16 minutes.

What a turnaround!@DjokerNole erases a double break deficit and wins the second set 6-4 against Nadal! #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/PbBKeUenS2

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 31, 2022

The third set was a far quicker affair, as Nadal won the first two games and five of the first six before closing it out, 6–2. 

Djokovic turned it around in the fourth set by winning the first three games. It was the first time during the match in which Nadal didn’t break Djokovic on his first serving game of the set. The Serbian continued to dominate in this set as he went up 5–2.

But, Nadal didn’t let Djokovic off that easily. He then won the next three games in order to put the set at 5–5.

Not headed to a fifth set quite yet!@RafaelNadal saves two set points and earns a crucial break to get back on serve in the fourth set against Djokovic. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jRjqQSRUv7

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 31, 2022

Right at the four-hour mark, Nadal won a sixth game in order to put the fourth set in a tiebreak. At one point, the Spaniard led 6–1 points in the tiebreak, but then lost three match points in a row. Nadal did close it out from there, emerging with a 7–4 tiebreak win to close another epic chapter in this historic rivalry.