PARIS. – Talks of an end to Rafael Nadal’s reign proved premature once again as the claycourt king stayed on course for a record-extending men’s 22nd Grand Slam title by beating archrival Novak Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in a vintage French Open quarterfinal clash on Tuesday.
The 13-time Roland Garros champion, beaten by the world No. 1 in the semifinals here last year, arrived in Paris on the back of two injuries that had hampered his preparations.
Having already survived a five-set thriller against Felix Auger Aliassime in the previous round, the Spaniard, who has only lost three times at the French Open since his first campaign in 2005, knows every inch of the immense court Philippe Chatrier and Djokovic paid for the reminder.
The Serbian is still stuck at 20 Grand Slam titles after being barred from taking part in the Australian Open by local authorities over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — a major that Nadal won.
On the day teenager Carlos Alcaraz, who has been widely tipped as his successor, was knocked out, Nadal threw the punches and had defending champion Djokovic on the ropes in a high octane start under the spotlights.
Djokovic fought back in an 88-minute second set but the 35-year-old Nadal, backed by a partisan crowd, found the resources to end it in four sets despite being a break down in the fourth.
German third seed Alexander Zverev capitalized on an error-filled performance from Carlos Alcaraz to tame the high-flying teenaged Spaniard 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7) and reach a second straight semifinal.
This was the first time the 25-year-old Zverev defeated a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam in 12 attempts and his victory came against a player who came into the contest having won 14 consecutive matches.
Zverev, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 semifinal, had a 2-1 head-to-head lead against Alcaraz but his opponent had won their most recent meeting — the only one on clay — this month in the final of the ATP Masters in Madrid.
Alcaraz made 56 unforced errors as Zverev saved a set point in the fourth set tiebreak before converting his second match point.
“It’s a very emotional moment for me. Thank you everyone. It’s incredible, the support I get from you. Everyone knows how important it is for me to play here. It’s the most important tournament of my career,” Nadal said on court after the four-hour-12-minute tug of war.
In women’s play, Unseeded Italian Martina Trevisan maintained her impressive form as she surged into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 defeat of Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday.
Trevisan, who will face American Coco Gauff in the last four, had all the answers as she dominated most of the match against a below-par Fernandez who struggled to repeat the form that took her to last year’s US Open final.
The world number 59 could have won in straight sets but wavered when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second as fellow left-hander Fernandez dug deep to stay in the contest. — Reuters
