Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will meet for the 58th time after both players progressed through to the semi-finals of the French Open in four-sets.
Rafael Nadal had his 36-set winning streak at the French Open ended by Diego Schwartzman before the Spaniard battled through by securing a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory after two hours 48 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
It was the first time Nadal had dropped a set at Roland Garros in exactly two years but the 13-time French Open champion elevated his game in the third and fourth set and won nine games in a row to book his spot in the semi-finals for the 14th time in his career.
Djokovic also needed four sets to reach the final four as his opponent Matteo Berrettini battled back from losing the first two sets and forced play beyond France’s 11pm curfew by winning a third-set tie-break.
The 5,000 fans inside Court Philippe Chatrier were ushered out midway through the fourth set before the world No 1 managed to find the all-important break in the 12th game to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 and secure yet another clash with Nadal.
Djokovic is one of only two players to ever defeat the Spaniard at the tournament but Nadal has won the competition every time after reaching the final four.
Despite this record Nadal refused to get carried away as he prepares to face off against his greatest rival in a repeat of last year’s final.
Nadal said: ‘The numbers are just amazing, but I can’t think about that now, we can talk about them when I finish my career.
‘Right now it’s the moment to be happy that I won an important match today against an incredibly difficult opponent.
‘I was able to find a way to play my best tennis in the moment that it mattered most, that is something very important for me as it gives me a lot of confidence going into the semi-finals.’
Djokovic holds a narrow 29-28 lead over Nadal in their head-to-head however, the Spaniard has won the last five meetings between the pair on clay dropping just two sets in the process.
Maria Sakkari downs Iga Swiatek to guarantee a new Grand Slam champion
Maria Sakkari produced a fine display of tennis to knock out the reigning champion Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
The Greek started nervously dropping her opening service game but fought back straight away to regain the break of serve and win the opening set 6-4.
Swiatek’s fitness started to decline in the second set as the 20-year-old was forced to take an injury time-out after falling 2-0 down in the second set.
The disruption in play did little to waver Sakkari’s rhythm as she continued to hold her composure and served out the remainder of the set to confirm a spot in her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final.
Elsewhere, in the battle of the first-time quarter-finalists Barbora Krejcikova overcame 17-year-old Cori Gauff 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in one hour and 54 minutes to set up a clash with Sakkari in the next round.
