Rafael Nadal’s pursuit of history in the French Open is still alive while the same can’t be said for Novak Djokovic.
These two Big 3 colleagues gave tennis fans numerous French Open 2022 highlights on Wednesday, and the 59th installment of their storied rivalry saw the King of Clay win with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).
Elsewhere, Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic have moved into the Roland Garros semi-finals for the first time after they triumphed over their respective counterparts.
With four ATP players left standing, the 2022 Roland Garros is approaching its climax, so read on below as SBOTOP serves you the latest French Open 2022 updates.
Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic lives up to the billing
Rafael Nadal defeated his long-time nemesis and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros in a match that lasted for more than four hours. Their tiff started on Tuesday night and finished at 1AM on Wednesday morning in Paris.
It was a classic back-and-forth between these two players as Nadal led by a set and a double break, but Djokovic fought back to claim the second set.
With momentum seemingly swinging towards the Serb’s favour, the Spaniard reclaimed the edge by dominating the third set. Djokovic then started strong in the fourth, but Nadal saved two set points to deny the World No. 1 and force a decider.
Eventually, Nadal would hold on to the victory in a one-sided tie-break. With the victory, the Spaniard has moved within two victories of a record-extending 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam.
Had Djokovic won, on the other hand, he would’ve been on his way to claim his 21st Grand Slam. With the loss, his No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings might be in jeopardy at the end of the year.
“It has been a very emotional night for me. I’m still playing for nights like today. But it’s just a quarter-final match, no? So I didn’t win anything. So I just need to give myself a chance to be back on court in two days, play another semifinals here in Roland Garros. It means a lot to me,” said Nadal after the match.
“He showed why he’s a great champion. Staying there mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did. Congrats to him and his team. No doubt he deserved it,” said Djokovic.
Nadal improved to 29-30 in his head-to-heads against Djokovic and he has now won consecutive matches that lasted for four hours or more. The soon-to-be 36-year-old is set to take on Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, who is fresh from a win over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic progress to the semis for the first time
Rounding out the Final Four are Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud, who recently won against Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune respectively.
Like Nadal, Cilic needed at least four hours to beat Rublev, who has now lost all of his last five quarter-finals appearances in Grand Slams.
The Croatian found himself down after losing in the first set. He won the second and third and lost the fourth, but he maintained his composure in the fifth set. Cilic fired 88 winners including 33 aces en route to the victory.
“A lot of heart, and one had to go down. Today was my day, but Andrey also played an incredible match,” said Cilic.
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud extended his best Grand Slam run into the semi-finals by fending off a spirited effort from Holger Rune in an all-Scandinavian quarter-final.
The Norwegian started briskly by taking the first set but was challenged in the second and third sets. When Rune continued to pressure Ruud in the fourth, the latter battled through three deuces in the eighth game and served out the match.
Ruud is the first Norwegian to play in a Grand Slam singles quarter-final. The winner of the last all-Scandinavian quarter-final, semi-final, or final at a major went on to win the title, so he might have another trophy on the way.
“A big day for Norwegian tennis because we have also a female player – Ulrikke Eikeri – who made the final of mixed doubles today. She is even one step further than me. She will play for probably her biggest title of her life tomorrow so I wish her luck,” said Ruud post-match.
He’s improved to 4-0 in his head-to-heads against Holger Rune and the French Open 2022 odds are backing him to win since he has a 3-0 record against Marin Cilic thus far.
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