Novak Djokovic: 'Vibes are different with Rafa' as rivals go head-to-head at French Open semi-final

ByNiamh Lewis

Updated 10/06/2021 at 08:54 GMT

"It's not like any other match, let's face it, the biggest challenge you can have is playing against Nadal on this court," said Djokovic ahead of his meeting with the 13-time French Open champion in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Nadal is bidding to move clear in the men's all-time Grand Slam charts. He currently shares the lead with Roger Federer on 20.

Novak Djokovic said "the vibes are different" this year as he meets Rafael Nadal in the French Open semi-final for the second consecutive time, following a win over Matteo Berrettini at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Serbia's Djokovic beat Italy's Berrettini 6-3 6-2 6-7 7-5 in their last-eight encounter in Paris, while earlier in the day, Diego Schwartzman was no match for Nadal as the Spaniard sailed through to his 14th French Open semi-finals.

Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said: "It's not like any other match, let's face it, the biggest challenge you can have is playing against [Rafa] Nadal on this court in which he has had so much success in his career in the final stages of the Grand Slam, it doesn't get bigger than that.

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"Each time we face each other there's the extra tension and expectation and vibes are different... walking on the court with him, but that's why our rivalry has been historic for this sport and I've been privilege to play him so many times."

Djokovic, 34, has won the French Open once in 2016, compared to Nadal's 13 titles 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 Rafael Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title at his favourite event and the women's draw wide open after the top 10 seeds suffered early exits.

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