Rafael Nadal’s dominance on clay continues with epic French Open win over Novak Djokovic

As the two greatest rivals converged at the French Open once more, plenty of factors pointed in favour of Novak Djokovic. While both he and Rafael Nadal had arrived in the clay court season full of uncertainty, only Djokovic had taken notable steps forward since. Nadal, meanwhile, still searched for his best form after his fractured rib. His preparation was complicated with a flareup of his chronic foot injury. His form in Paris was, so far, subpar.

But this is Nadal at Roland Garros, the man who has won 110 times in his home with just three losses, who has shown over the course of his 17 years that form and other frivolous trivia have little relevance in the face of total, unprecedented dominance. In a match that began in May and ended in June, Nadal blew Djokovic away in the opening stages, then absorbed a multiple strong fightbacks before rising to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).

In the historic 59th meeting of the rivalry that never ends, Nadal moves to 29-30 against Djokovic in their head-to-head record. He will face Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, who played the best big match of his career as he smothered the hype and edged past an often erratic Carlos Alcaraz, snuffing out the surrounding hype as he won 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7).

When they met each other for the first time in their careers in 2006 on these courts and in this very round, Nadal was a one-time grand slam champion while Djokovic represented Serbia and Montenegro. Sixteen years on, this occasion marked the first time in the Open era that two players with 20 grand slam titles have faced each other.

Nadal arrived on his court and set the tone from the beginning, forcing his way inside the baseline and looking to unload on his forehand down the line, the