Talks of an end to Rafael Nadal's reign proved premature once again as the claycourt king stayed on course for a record-extending men's 22nd Grand Slam title by beating arch rival Novak Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in a vintage French Open quarter-final clash.
Rafael Nadal Photo:
The 13-time Roland Garros champion, beaten by the world number one in the semi-finals here last year, arrived in Paris on the back of two injuries that had hampered his preparations.
Having already survived a five-set thriller against Felix Auger Aliassime in the previous round, the Spaniard, who has only lost three times at the French Open since his first campaign in 2005, knows every inch of the immense court Philippe Chatrier and Djokovic paid for the reminder.
The Serbian is still stuck at 20 Grand Slam titles after being barred from taking part in the Australian Open by local authorities over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 - a major that Nadal won.
On the day teenager Carlos Alcaraz, who has been widely tipped as his successor, was knocked out, Nadal threw the punches and had defending champion Djokovic on the ropes in a high octane start under the spotlights.
Djokovic fought back in an 88-minute second set but the 35-year-old Nadal, backed by a partisan crowd, found the resources to end it in four sets despite being a break down in the fourth and set up a meeting with German third seed Alexander Zverev for a place in the final.
Zverev capitalised on an error-filled performance from Alcaraz to tame the high-flying teenaged Spaniard 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7) and reach a second straight semi-final at the French Open.
Alexander Zverev Photo:
This was the first time the 25-year-old Zverev defeated a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam in 12 attempts and his victory came against a player who came into the contest having won 14 consecutive matches.
Zverev, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 semi-final, had a 2-1 head-to-head lead against Alcaraz but his opponent had won their most recent meeting -- the only one on clay -- this month in the final of the ATP Masters in Madrid.
Alcaraz made 56 unforced errors as Zverev saved a set point in the fourth set tiebreak before converting his second matchpoint with a superb backhand service return to set up a meeting against either world number one Novak Djokovic or 13-time French Open champion Rafa Nadal.
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic plays 13-time winner Rafael Nadal later on Wednesday.
In the women's draw American teenager Coco Gauff powered past compatriot Sloane Stephens 7-5 6-2 to book a semi-final spot in her biggest victory at a Grand Slam.
The 18-year-old, the youngest player left in the draw who was hit by a brief spell of nerves late in the game, will next play Italy's Martina Trevisan for a place in Saturday's final.
Unseeded Trevisan beat Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3.
World number 59 Trevisan had all the answers as she dominated most of the match against a below-par Fernandez who struggled to repeat the form that took her to last year's U.S. Open final.
-Reuters