Downcast Djokovic salutes Nadal’s ‘courage’

The duo produced another classic match in an era defined by such encounters, with Djokovic and Nadal meeting for the 35th time.

The Spaniard now leads 20-15 and will bid for an unprecedented eighth title tomorrow, but it could so easily have been Djokovic celebrating a second Roland Garros final in succession.

The match really caught fire in the fourth set as Djokovic recovered from a third-set slump to take it into a decider, twice hitting back from a break down.

He then gained an early break in the fifth, and it could have been two, but Nadal showed his remarkable fighting spirit to level at 4-4 and, after four hours and 37 minutes, clinched a 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 9-7 victory.

Djokovic said: “It’s been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment.

“I congratulate my opponent, because he showed the courage in the right moments and went for his shots, and when he was a break down in the fifth he made some incredible shots from the baseline.

“That’s why he’s a champion. That’s why he’s been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it’s another year.”

World No 4 Nadal has been imperious since returning from seven months out with knee problems in February, losing only two matches and winning six titles.

Nadal said: “You need to love the game. When you love the game, you love what you are doing. You appreciate what you are doing in every moment.

“I learned during all my career to enjoy suffering, and these kind of matches are very special. You don’t have the chance to play these kind of matches every day.

“So when these kind of matches happen, you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what’s harder is when I was in Majorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV.”

Both players were unhappy to be warned for spending too long between points, with Nadal given a point penalty for a second offence, although seeing as he was 5-1 and 40-0 up in the third set at the time, it did not affect the match.

The second semi-final was an anti-climax, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had hoped to become the first Frenchman in the final for 25 years, outplayed by David Ferrer, who won 6-1 7-6 (7/3) 6-2.

It was the Spaniard’s sixth grand slam semi-final and the first he has won.

Beverley’s Kyle Edmund and his Portuguese partner Frederico Ferreira Silva take on Chile’s Christian Garin and Nicolas Jarry today in the final of the boys’ doubles competition.