One of my greatest wins: Novak

Paris, June 12: Novak Djokovic compared defeating Rafael Nadal at the French Open to scaling Mount Everest as he hailed Friday’s epic semifinal triumph over the 13time champion as “one of my greatest victories”.

Djokovic condemned Nadal to only his third loss in 16 years and 108 matches at Roland Garros to reach his sixth Paris final after a classic showdown which even beat the country’s Covid-19 curfew.

“Tonight it was my greatest ever match in Paris,” Djokovic said after the epic match.

It was his second win in nine meetings at Roland Garros with Nadal, a sequence which also included devastating losses in the 2012, 2014 and 2020 finals.

“Definitely one of the top three matches that I ever played in my entire career,” said Djokovic.

“Considering the quality of tennis, playing my biggest rival on the court where he has had so much success and has been the dominant force in the last 15-plus years, and the atmosphere which was completely electric. Just amazing.

“It’s hard to find words bigger than all the superlatives you can think of for Rafa’s achievements in Roland Garros,” added 34-yearold Djokovic who now leads their series 30-28.

“Each time you step on the court with him, you know that you have to kind of climb Mount Everest to win against this guy here.”

Nadal bemoaned the humid conditions which became heavier and slower as the evening progressed.

“We had been playing with very warm and high bounces. During the night the situation goes a little bit the other way,” he said.

“So the bounce is a little less. The ball gets less topspin. That’s more favourable for him.”

Djokovic had two break points in the opening game of the first set which stretched to 10 minutes but was unable to convert.