World number five and 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal defeated long-time rival Novak Djokovic at the 2022 French Open Quarterfinals after a gruelling encounter between the duo on the clay in Paris.
Djokovic defeated Nadal in the semifinals of the 2021 French Open en route to winning the whole thing, and the Serb had yet to drop a single set by the time he faced Nadal in this year’s last eight.
The 35-year-old Nadal showed his superiority on clay by picking up a hard-fought 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 win over the world number one in the clash that lasted for four hours and 12 minutes before it ended. The Spaniard will now hope to win his 14th title in the French Open.
Djokovic will now drop from his place as the world’s highest-ranked player to third in the world after his defeat in Paris.
In the other 2022 French Open Quarterfinals played on the same day, 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz Garfia paid for a slow start as world number three Alexander Zverev sent him crashing out of the tournament in Paris.
The sixth seeded teenager made quite a lot of errors as he looked unusually ruffled as the match started. It took him until the third set to get into rhythm, but the match had already left his hands by then. Zverev claimed a 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6 win in the clash to book a semi-final clash against Nadal. The German is hoping to reach this year’s final after losing in the semifinals last year.
In the women’s side of the draw, 18-year-old Coco Gauff seems to have finally come of age as she claimed a straight sets win over compatriot Sloane Stephens in the 2022 French Open Quarterfinals to reach her first semi-final.
Gauff claimed a 7-5 6-2 win over the 29-year-old Stephens to book her place in the semifinals for the first time in her two-year-old career.
In the day’s other quarterfinal, Martina Trevisan overcame 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-7 6-3 to qualify for the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career.
