Nadal beats Djokovic in epic French Open semi

Rafael Nadal reached yet another French Open final. Picture: AP

The seven-time champion twice let a lead slip away in the fourth set, then came from behind in the fifth to beat world No 1 Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7.

Djokovic blew an easy overhead on the opening point on the final game and went on to lose his serve to love, sending his final forehand long.

“I was ready for the fight,” Nadal said. “I really fought a lot.”

He improved his record to 58-1 at Roland Garros, including five wins over Djokovic. The French Open remains the only major title Djokovic has yet to win.

“It has been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment,” Djokovic said. “I wanted this title so much.”

Instead, Nadal needs one more win to become the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam event. Tomorrow, he will play fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who advanced to his first Grand Slam final by beating out-of-sorts Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. The No 4-seeded Ferrer had lost his five previous major semi-finals and has played in more major tournaments – 42 – to reach his first final than any other man in the Open era.

Ferrer, who has won all 18 of his sets in the tournament, said: “I am not tired. This is very important playing against Rafa, because I need to be 100 per cent to do well against him.”

It was sheer see-saw drama between Nadal and Djokovic. In the fourth set Nadal twice was a break up, and twice found himself two points from victory before Djokovic summoned his best tennis of the day.

On the verge of defeat, he dug in and won ten of the final 13 points in the fourth set to even the match. A rattled Nadal double-faulted in the first game of the final set, and Djokovic broke to take the lead. But there were more plot twists to come. Serving at 4-3 in the fifth set, Djokovic came forward and successfully hit a smash volley, but his momentum carried him into the net and the chair umpire awarded the point to Nadal.

“I should have won that point in 99.9 per cent of cases,” Djokovic said. “It was a bit unfortunate.”

Three points later he drove a forehand into the net to lose the game and even the score once again. Djokovic then began complaining during changeovers that the clay had become too dry. He wanted the court watered, and summoned the tournament referee to argue his case, but officials declined his request. “It got very dry and it was very slippery,” Djokovic said. “I think that it’s wrong what they did.”

The conditions didn’t hamper the quality of play. As the tension built, Nadal pulled off the shot of the day – and perhaps the tournament – in the 14th game of the set. Retreating for a lob, he flicked the ball on the run between his legs with his back to the net. That left Djokovic with an easy overhead, but he dumped it into the net, and the crowd roared at the improbable sequence. The mistake didn’t cost Djokovic, who won the game on the next point. But the next blown overhead did, and it appeared to shake him as he lost the next three points and the match.

“A real emotional match,” Nadal said. “These kind of matches make the sport big.”

The last shot came four hours, 37 minutes after the first.

“I congratulate Novak,” Nadal added. “He will win here at Roland Garros another year.”

Djokovic said he’ll continue to try. “Nothing comes easy to you; you’ve got to earn it,” he said. “Of course the feeling is not great at the moment, but I still feel I have years in front of me. So I will come back to Paris and keep on trying to win it.”

Chair umpire Pascal Maria docked Nadal a point in the second set for playing too slowly, and later warned Djokovic for the same violation. But the crowd was in no rush for the excitement to end, urging on Djokovic when he fell behind and then roaring for a Nadal comeback at the end. Along with changes in the lead, there were the sort of long, scrambling rallies that are expected when Djokovic and Nadal meet. Three strokes clipped the net on one wild exchange, which included a drop shot by each player, two lunging scoops and finally a winning volley by Djokovic.

In the end, Nadal was not to be denied on his favourite stage. His 58 victories at Roland Garros tied Roger Federer and Guillermo Vilas for the most ever. “That’s why he’s a champion,” Djokovic said. “That’s why he’s been ruling Roland Garros for many years.”