Nadal outlasts Djokovic to reach 8th French Open final

The set took a sudden turn though, when Nadal followed a forehand error with an untimely double fault to offer a break point to the Serbian. Djokovic produced a characteristically belligerent forehand cross court winner to take the break. Another winner of similar design and pedigree earned the Serbian a 5-3 lead. Soon Djokovic took his first set point to put the match on an even keel.

What happened next was a monstrous Nadal wave that sank his opponent in a flood of deep distress. The Serbian’s misery started with an unfortunate call from the chair umpire, when he was facing break point in the second game. The hawk-eye suggested that the ball clipped the line, but the umpire thought otherwise. The game was awarded to Nadal and a deflated Djokovic slipped into a downward spiral.

Very soon, Nadal had a 5-0 lead with his opponent looking more and more listless with the passage of play. As if to save his dignity, Djokovic dug deep from 15-40 in the sixth game to survive the two set points to hold serve and avoid a bagel. At 40-0 in the next game, Nadal had three set points for a two sets to one lead. As is habit, the Spaniard took far too long between points and the umpire acted to dock him a point. But Djokovic was too spent to cause any further dent, as Nadal clinched the set with the help of an unforced error from his opponent.

With his back to the wall, Djokovic battled hard to stay even at 3-3. The situation took a grim turn for Djokovic when he fell to 15-40 in the seventh game. The desperate Djokovic struck a blistering forehand cross court winner to save a break point. But he courted disaster when he framed a forehand on the next point to surrender the vital break. But great champions always call on their best shots when they most need it.

Djokovic did just that when he inspired himself with a backhand return winner, taking four points in a row to break back to 4-4. It was a game reminiscent of Djokovic’s effort against Roger Federer when he was down match point against the Swiss at the US Open not too long ago. Djokovic made it eight points in a row, when he held to love in the next game. The eleventh game.

With the match on edge, Nadal struck a couple of fearsome forehand winners to inch closer to a momentous victory at 30-15 in the twelfth game. But Djokovic won the next two points to earn another break point at a pivotal time. And a forehand up the line winner brought the crowd to its feet held aloft by their collective respect for the grim fighter living inside Djokovic. The Serbian surfed the wave to gain a handy 4-3 lead in the tie-break, a fifth set was looming in the air that filled the majestic arena.

Djokovic took set point with a confident smash to reach 6-3, but it was Nadal who had the ball on his racket. It didn’t matter because the Serbian took the set with some sensational defence from the baseline, retrieving like a well-trained Labrador retriever. The nearly hour long set was a definitive statement from the top dog in tennis of his intense desire to offer his tributes to his now departed coach.