Djokovic hands Nadal 3rd defeat at Roland Garros to storm into French Open final
Jun 12, 2021
Paris (France) June 12: Novak Djokovic ended Rafa Nadal's bid for a 14th French Open title and record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title overall by coming back to win their 58th career matchup 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday night.
It was Nadal's third loss in 108 matches at a tournament he won each of the last four years.
Nadal's first defeat at the French Open came against Robin Soderling in 2009; the next against Djokovic in 2015.
"Just one of these nights and matches that you will remember forever," said the top-seeded Djokovic, who has reached his sixth final at the clay-court major tournament.
After losing the first set 6-3, the world number one nailed down the semifinals in a stroke, winning the next three sets, meeting only some fight-back in the 3rd one.
This was the 58th time the two legendary players meet each other and the first meeting was as long as 15 years ago in 2006. Djokovic leads the duel with 30-28.
Djokovic's final opponent will be Greece's StefanosTsitsipas, who beat Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Source: Xinhua
