Rafael Nadal beats defending champ Novak Djokovic in French Open quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal is through to the semifinals at the 2022 French Open after dethroning the tournament's defending champion and ATP No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic on Tuesday, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Nadal, 35, dominated early in the match, winning nine of the first 11 games to race out to a 6-2, 3-0 lead. But Djokovic recovered to win six out of the next seven games in the second set to even the match at a set apiece.
After Nadal took back the lead with a quick win in the third set, Djokovic had the upper hand for the majority of the fourth set. Djokovic had a 5-3 lead in the set, but Nadal fought off a pair of set points and eventually forced a fourth set tiebreaker. After racing out to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker, Djokovic erased four match points before Nadal finally found a winner.
Nadal is a 13-time champion at Roland-Garros and earned the moniker "The King of Clay" for his supremacy in the tournament. Earlier in 2022, Nadal won the Australian Open to secure his 21st Grand Slam title, a record among men's singles players.
Djokovic, who is a two-time French Open champ and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final last year, has 20 career Grand Slam titles.
Nadal will next face No. 3 ranked Alexander Zverev in the semifinals after the German player beat 19-year-old rising star Carlos Alcaraz earlier Tuesday, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.
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