NOVAK Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will face off in the 2021 Roland Garros final after winning their remarkable semi-finals overnight. In two matches fit for the semi-final stage, the world number one Djokovic found a way to overcome the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal in more than four hours on court, whilst Tsitsipas survived a late comeback from Alexander Zverev to win in five sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Djokovic knew he had to be at his best against a man who held a 105-2 record in the Paris Grand Slam, and whilst he was one of those losses, the difficulty of beating the 13-time winner was sky high. But, Djokovic fought through a set down and a tight four-set match to win 3-6 6-3 7-6 6-2 in four hours and 11 minutes to reach another Grand Slam final.

“It was for sure the most beautiful match I’ve played here in Paris,” Djokovic said post-match. “You tell yourself there is no pressure. “But there is a lot of pressure, trust me.”

For a world number one it is hard to exceed some of the tennis the Serbian has played over his career, but it was one of his most impressive performances to-date against the greatest ever clay courter. He hit 50 winners to 48, and only had the 37 unforced errors to 55 in a reliable performance.

While Nadal had an extra point for his first serve percentage, the Serbian won both his first (65 to 59 per cent) and second serve (50 to 40 per cent) points. He also stepped up to win more receiving points (47-41 per cent) and break eight times from 22 chances to Nadal’s six from 16.

The result got one back on the head-to-head with Nadal still holding a comfortable 7-2 record at Roland Garros, but put Djokovic in the box seat to become only the third player in the Open era to win at least two Grand Slams at each of the four majors. But first, he has to overcome the player he beat in last year’s Roland Garros semi-finals, fifth seed Tsitsipas.

The Greek talent battled his way past Zverev in an epic five-set contest, racing to a two sets to love lead with back-to-back 6-3 successes, before dropping the next two sets 6-4. He steadied to win the decider 6-3 to win in five sets in three hours and 37 minutes on court, and secure a place in his maiden Grand Slam final.

Tsitsipas became the first ever Greek Grand Slam finalist, being the more conservative of the duo with less winners (36-45) but also less unforced errors (43-47). He had more success at the net (73 to 66 per cent) and managed to create separation when facing his opponents’ second serve with a 52 to 40 per cent success rate.

ROLAND GARROS SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated [3] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 3-6 6-3 7-6 6-2
[5] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) defeated [6] Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3

Photo credit: Philippe Montigny/FFT