For a man who did not want to play Novak Djokovic at night, Rafael Nadal certainly made the best of the situation in such a way that the Spaniard came back from 5-2 down in the fourth set to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. But he is Rafael Nadal! He is the man who has won 110 times at home with just three losses; who has shown over the course of his 17-year career that form and other trivia have little relevance in the face of total, unprecedented dominance. In the 59th meeting of the historic rivalry that never ends, Nadal moved to 29-30 against Djokovic in their head-to-head clashes.
The amazing match makes you wonder how many epic matches does Nadal have left in him, but he is truly remarkable. Think about this QF match, which began in May and ended in June! Nadal, who will turn 36 Friday, blew Djokovic away in the opening stages, then absorbed multiple strong fightbacks and immense pressure before rising to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) after four hours and 11 minutes at 1:15am local time. Djokovic conceded that he was second best on the day: “I’m proud of fighting and staying till the last shot. As I said, you know, I lost to a better player today … and I have to accept this defeat.” Congratulations Nadal!