Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open against Alexander Sverre.

Rafael Nadal wins 22 Grand Slam titles with Novak Djokovic at another Titanic French Open

Nadal, the 13-time champion in Paris, showed all his fighting spirit by capturing the match 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (3), which lasted four hours and 12 minutes. 1.15am local time.

The score was not fair to the match – 59th in the match – several major games, jaw drop, pace fluctuations, Nadal led the first three sets with a double break, an 84-minute second set, and Djokovic smashed two sets to force a referee – all on the court. Philip played in a pulsating atmosphere at Satri, even when the temperature dropped at night.

“Novak is undoubtedly one of the best players in history; so playing against him has always been a fantastic challenge, in all the history we’ve been together in,” Nadal later said.

“Another thing today, there is only one way to win against him: to play better than you from the first point to the last. Tonight is one of these magic nights for me; unexpected but very happy.

Nadal now has only two more wins to his 22nd Grand Slam title, which will take him two more wins than Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Tim Henman called the race to finish the most important titles of the last 10 years the “most important” men’s competition, and there was tension and drama throughout.

The opening game lasted 10 minutes and consisted of a 22-shot rally before Djokovic gave Nadal an early break.

From there the Spanish player ran with the set, beating again 4-1 with a bad forehand winner.

With the support of the majority voice crowd, Nadal was in control of the match, finding the mark with his serves and pushing Djokovic into error.

Natal did not give up after taking the first set 49 minutes later, creating seven break-point chances in the epic opening game of the second set as the winners continued to fly.

Eventually the pressure was put on, a forehand Djokovic pinned in the corner and Nadal put a volley into the net.

Nadal coordinated the break and then added another, sliding on a drop shot to take a 3-0 lead for his 23rd win.

But Djokovic, who showed his best play in the opening hours, began to elevate his position by striking with greater consistency and power on both wings.

The world No. 1 trailed 3-1, then won the sixth game in 18 minutes, in which Nadal broke the deadlock on his serve.

As Djokovic won the fourth game in a row, that pace seemed to be at Djokovic, but Nadal dragged himself to his best and played some incredible points to make it 4-4.

Djokovic, the 13-time champion, was unable to stop in the next service game, however, failing twice in a row from the back of the court to give up the set.

But to start the third set, Djokovic went out evenly and trailed 2-0. In another long grip Nadal pushed the advantage to 3-1 and Djokovic’s poor service game gave him another break.

World No. 1 appeared to be a different player to the winner of the second set, the error count began to creep in again, giving a wildly missed forehand Nadal set.

Djokovic showed his frustration after losing the point, as fans in the crowd were wrapped in blankets as the temperature dropped.

But Djokovic broke when a drop shot from Nadal, checked by the referee during a discussion with the Spanish player, landed slightly wide.

Djokovic was ready to take the match 5-2 in the fifth set until Nadal saved two sets and broke the deadlock.

The crowd in Chhattisgarh cheered him on, Nadal picked up speed and found Djokovic liking him.

An error from Djokovic’s rocket led Nadal to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak, and despite battling from No. 1 in the world, Nadal had a memorable victory.

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