French Open 2022: Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic in four sets
Rafael Nadal is in the semifinals of the French Open! The Spaniard prevailed against world number one Novak Djokovic in a gripping quarterfinals 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 2 and 7: 6 (4).
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jun 01, 2022, 01:19 am
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal didn't need much start-up time in their eagerly awaited quarter-final duel at the French Open: The first game alone lasted around ten minutes and should ultimately go to the setback Nadal. Inspired by this break, the Spaniard showed a very strong performance at the beginning and took Djokovic's serve again to make it 4-1. After 49 minutes, the 21-time Grand Slam champion bagged the first set 6-2.
The first game in the second section was similar to that of the opening set and again it was Nadal who secured the game - and with it the break. The Mallorcan organized a double break lead a little later, but Djokovic fought back and gradually got into the game better.
Djokovic turns set two
The Serb confirmed this impression by taking Nadal's serve again to make it 3: 3 and confirming the break after another marathon game. At the decisive moment, Djokovic struck again - as so often in his career - and secured the second set 6: 4.
But Nadal was not impressed by this in the long term: For the third time in the third attempt, the fifth in the world rankings managed a break right at the beginning, and when the score was 3-1 he added another one. This time, the Iberian couldn't take the butter off his bread: after three hours of play, Nadal was 2-1 ahead.
Nadal hits back in the fourth round
Nadal was not able to transport this momentum for too long, Djokovic managed an early break to make it 2-0. The industry leader transported this up to 5: 3 before he missed two set balls on his own serve and had to accept the break. The fourth set then went into a tiebreak.
In this, Nadal got off to a good start and quickly took a 4-1 lead. The 13-time French Open winner no longer gave up this lead: After four hours and twelve hours of play, Nadal converted his fourth match point to a 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 2 and 7: 6 (4) success. In the semifinals he faces Alexander Zverev, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the day session .
Here the individual tableau in Roland Garros
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