Nadal has won the 59th installment of his legendary rivalry against Novak Djokovic, advancing to the Roland Garros semi-finals with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) victory in a match that began Tuesday night and finished after 1 a.m Wednesday morning in Paris.
The Spaniard led by a set and a double break before Djokovic stormed back to level, but Nadal reasserted himself with a dominant third set. It was the World No. 1 who started strongest in the fourth, but Nadal saved two set points to deny his attempt to serve out the set and force a decider. Three days ahead of his 36th birthday, Nadal powered to victory in a one-sided tie-break.
It has been a very emotional night for me. I’m still playing for nights like today, Nadal said in his post-match press conference. “But it’s just a quarter-final 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. Means a lot to me.’