A BLOCKBUSTER semi-final awaits between the King of Clay and the world number one, after Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both booked their spots through to the Roland Garros final four. Neither player had it completely their own way, with Nadal having to overcome 10th seed Argentinian Diego Schwartzman in four sets 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-0, while Djokovic fought hard to get past ninth seed Italian Matteo Berrettini, also in four sets 6-3 6-2 6-7 7-5.

World number three Nadal is just two wins away from a 14th Roland Garros title and record 21st Grand Slam title, overtaking Roger Federer at the top of the list. His four set win over Schwartzman lasted two hours and 45 minutes, with the Argentinian winning the second set and being competitive early in the third, before fading. At 3-4 in the third set, the number three seed won nine consecutive games to close out the match, hitting 35 winners to 26, and only 29 unforced errors to 39. Nadal was also more superior on serve with a 66 to 63 per cent serving efficiency, as well as a higher success rate on both his first (73 to 59 per cent) and second serve (68 to 46 per cent) points.

Nadal said he played some inconsistent tennis but was happy to be back in another Roland Garros semi-final. The Spaniard has put together a 23-3 season on the ATP Tour, and will be looking to improve that in the semi-finals.

“I started badly in the second set, then I was able to come back,” Nadal said post-match. “But at 4-4, returning with the wind, I played a bad game and hit a double fault in the next game. I needed to play more aggressively and I did so throughout the rest of the match. I won an important match today against a tough opponent. I was able to find a way to play my best tennis in the moments that I really needed to.”

In the other semi-final, Djokovic kept his dream of becoming only the third man in the Open Era to win every Grand Slam title twice, defeating Berrettini in a titanic struggle. The Serbian needed three hours and 28 minutes to see off the Italian, after looking to cruise early in the match. Djokovic ticked over the first two sets relatively, before Berrettini pounced 7-5 in the third set tiebreaker, and took Djokovic all the way in the fourth set before the Serbian steadied to win it the fourth set, 7-5.

In the match, Berrettini hit more winners than his top ranked Serbian opponent (55-44), but was no match for Djokovic’s discipline, as the world number one hit just 19 unforced errors to the Italian’s 51. Berrettini also shaded Djokovic in the aces (11-10), but Djokovic was dominant at the net (17 winning points to eight both from 19 total points), as well as more consistent on serve. Djokovic won 77 and 65 per cent of his first and second serve points to Berrettini’s 71 and 42 per cent. He also saved all three break points, and then broke Berrettini four times from nine chances.

When Djokovic and Nadal meet on Court Philippe-Chatrier, it will be for a record 58th time, including a 15th clash in Grand Slam semi-finals or finals. The Serbian world number one holds a one-match lead (29-28), with the Spaniard having the chance to level the head-to-head and advance through to a 14th Roland Garros final.

ROLAND GARROS QUARTER FINALS:

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated [9] Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 6-3 6-2 6-7 7-5
[3] Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated [10] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-0

Picture credit: ATP Tour