French Open - Novak Djokovic downs Rafael Nadal in all-time classic semi-final at Roland Garros

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 11/06/2021 at 23:05 GMT

World number one Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal put on a masterclass at Roland Garros in their semi-final as they met for the second consecutive year. Djokovic lost to the 13-time champion in Paris last year and the pair played some absurdly good shots during their huge French Open clash. This time the Serb came through in four sets in a match that will be remembered for a long, long time.

Novak Djokovic was at his very, very best as he downed Rafael Nadal, 3-6 6-3 7-6 6-2, during their French Open semi-final in what will go down as an all-time classic.

In what is only the third match Nadal has ever lost at Roland Garros, the 13-time champion was beaten on his favourite court with Djokovic simply unplayable over the four sets.

Both players traded winners with an array of incredible rallies which thrilled the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd and the standard of play simply could not have been higher.

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Djokovic and Rafael Nadal put on a masterclass at Roland Garros as they met for the second consecutive year - but this time the Serb came out on top after four hours and 11 minutes.

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Djokovic lost to the 13-time champion in Paris last year and the pair played some absurdly good shots during their huge latest clash - so much so, Andy Murray was among the stars lauding the match.

Remarkably, Djokovic lost the first five games of the match as Nadal roared into a one-set lead, but the top seed found quite staggering levels to beat the King of Clay on Chatrier - surely one of the toughest tasks in sports.

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"You cannot play better clay court tennis than this," Murray said. "It’s perfect."

An unusual and amazing shot came early on with Nadal attempting to save three break points on his own serve in the second game of the second set.

While Djokovic would go on to break serve in response to the Spaniard winning the opening set 6-3, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros saved this particular break point with a truly sublime effort.

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"It has to be that good at the moment!" exclaimed Eurosport's Simon Reed on commentary as Nadal left Djokovic laughing with a drop shot played while running backwards and to the side in a desperate reaction.

A curfew had been put in place for the semi-final but, thrillingly for the fans inside the stadium, they found out after the world number one edged a stunning third set that they would, in fact, be allowed to stay on.

There were wild and joyous scenes as the fans celebrated the announcement more than any of the epic rallies they had witnessed up until that point as Nadal and Djokovic traded breathtaking shots and winners.

Nadal threw everything at the top seed but, after his slow start, Djokovic always seemed to just have the edge when the big points came around and he managed to close out a thrilling four-set win.

Djokovic, 34, has won the French Open once, in 2016, compared to Nadal's 13 titles at Roland Garros but both men are in the hunt to end their careers with the most Grand Slam titles to their names.

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Djokovic will now take on Stefanos Tsitsipas, who earlier reached his first Grand Slam final - and made history by becoming Greece's first to do so too.

The fifth seed showed all his class and supreme form as he battled past Alexander Zverev, 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 in their semi-final on Friday afternoon.

The Greek star, who was playing in his third successive Grand Slam semi-final, had to hold his nerve in a dramatic deciding set and was .

Watch the moment Djokovic beats Nadal to reach final at Roland Garros

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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title and two surprise names in the women's final in Paris.

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