Nadal outlasts Djokovic to inch closer to 14th French Open title

RAFAEL Nadal battled to a late-night victory over old foe Novak Djokovic to reach the semi-final of the French Open on Tuesday.

The Spaniard, right, looking for a 14th Roland Garros title, hustled his way to a 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (4) win over the defending champion and world number one, in a showdown lasting four hours and 12 minutes.

Epic and entertaining as it was, the match finished at 1.15am local time in temperatures of 12C, again calling into question the wisdom of tournament chiefs starting their night sessions at 8.45pm. Nevertheless, it was Nadal’s night, despite there being so much seemingly in Djokovic’s favour.

Nadal’s win over Djokovic was the second-latest finish in French Open history, falling 11 minutes short of the 2020 quarter-final between the Spaniard and Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

Asked afterwards if it was too late to be playing, Nadal said: “It is without a doubt. I understand television pays a lot of money but we need to find a balance.”

Djokovic added: “Broadcasters say it’s going to be night match, day match. They give the money. They decide.”

Djokovic leads the head-to-head 30-29, but more importantly, Nadal still leads the grand-slam titles race and now has a golden opportunity to move two ahead. Nadal faces third seed Alexander Zverev tomorrow.

Yesterday, Croatian 20th seed Marin Cilic sprung a surprise with a five-set victory over seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev.

Cilic, 33, reached the semi-final with a 5-7 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 (2) victory after a deciding-set tie-break.

In the women’d draw, world women’s number one Iga Swiatek further cleared her path towards the French Open title by knocking out 11th seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals.

Swiatek, 21, is the favourite and won 6-3 6-2 for a 33rd straight victory. Behind the Polish top seed, 28-year-old Pegula was the highest ranked player left in the women’s singles.

Daria Kasatkina, seeded 20th, meets Swiatek after a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over Veronika Kudermetova. It will be the 2014 junior champion’s first senior Grand Slam semi-final.