Djokovic, Nadal win, advance to men’s final

PARIS — Novak Djokovic seemed well on his way to yet another hohum victory, yet another French Open final, yet another matchup against rival Rafael Nadal. And then, suddenly, what had been a gallop became a grind.

Slightly more than two hours into his semifinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday night, Djokovic was serving for the match, one point from ending things in straight sets. Just. One. Point. But a downtheline backhand veered a tad wide, Djokovic rolled his eyes and, eventually, he was stuck in a serious situation, somehow pushed to five sets.

As is usually the case, though, he was up to the task when it mattered the most. Djokovic got back in gear down the stretch to hold off the much younger, much less accomplished Tsitsipas 63, 62, 57, 46, 61 to reach his fifth title match at Roland Garros.

“I stayed calm on the surface,” Djokovic said, “but deep down, it was a totally different matter.”

Standing in the way of No. 1 Djokovic, a 33yearold from Serbia, on Sunday at Court Philippe Chatier — he is pursuing a second trophy there and 18th from all Grand Slam tournaments — will be, as it’s been so often, No. 2 Nadal, a 34yearold from Spain.

It will be their 56th meeting, the most between two men in the professional era ( Djokovic leads 2926), 16th at a major ( Nadal leads 96) and eighth at the French Open ( Nadal leads 61).

“It’s his house,” Djokovic said.

In addition to closing in on an unfathomable 13th French Open championship with a 63, 63, 76 ( 0) win over 12thseeded Diego Schwartzman, Nadal now gets a chance to tie Roger Federer for the men’s record of 20 Slam titles.

Nadal said it’s fine for others to discuss such matters, but his focus remains squarely on the task at hand.

“I’m playing the most important tournament of the year — that’s what motivates me,” he insisted.

Djokovic is now 371 in 2020, the only setback coming via a disqualification at the U.S. Open last month.

“For sure, he has reached almost perfection, Novak, in his game style, the way he plays,” Tsitsipas said, “which is unbelievable to see, honestly.”

Nadal improved to 992 at the French Open — go ahead, read that again — including a combined 250 in semifinals and finals, as he seeks a fourth consecutive title in Paris.

Only 1,000 spectators are being allowed on the grounds daily, owing to the rising coronavirus cases in France, and the sparse crowd on hand was cheering for Schwartzman late in the third, when he kept that set close.

By the end, fans were chanting, “Rafa! Rafa!” as they have so many times in the past.