Rafael Nadal will face Novak Djokovic in one of the semi-finals of this year’s French Open Grand Slam championship. Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Alexander Zverev in another semi-final at Roland Garros.
Both Nadal and Djokovic have faced each other on 57 occasions with the Serbian leading the contest marginally by 29-28. However, top-seed Djokovic is no match to number 3 seed Nadal when it comes to playing on the clay court. The Spaniard leads the World No. 1 19-7 overall on clay. As for their contest at the French Open, both players have faced each other on eight occasions in the past with Nadal leading the contest 7-1. The only time that Djokovic could manage to defeat Nadal at the French Open was way back in 2015, when he won the quarter-final contest 7-5 6-3 6-1.
Speaking about his semi-final match against Nadal, Djokovic said, “It’s not like any other match. Let’s face it, it’s the biggest challenge that you can have playing on clay against Nadal on this court in which he has had so much success in his career.”
“In the final stages of a Grand Slam, it doesn’t get bigger than that,” BBC quoted the Serbian player a saying.
35-year-old Nadal is aiming to win a record 21st Grand Slam and 14th French Open title at Roland Garros, while Djokovic, 34, is eying at his 19th Grand Slam.
The winner will player Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev in this year’s French Open final, scheduled to be held on Sunday. Neither Tsitsipas from Greece nor Germany’s Zverev has won any Gland Slam in the past.
