The King of Clay lived up to his nickname on Tuesday.
Rafael Nadal took down Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in their quarterfinal tilt at the 2022 French Open. The win moves Nadal one step closer to his 14th championship at Roland Garros.
Nadal is now 110-3 in his French Open career, though two of those defeats came against Djokovic, including in last year’s semifinals. Djokovic, the tournament’s top seed, was looking to repeat as French Open champion and catch up to Nadal’s 21 Grand Slam titles.
Tuesday’s quarterfinal was the 59th match between Nadal and Djokovic, who holds a 30-29 lead over the Spaniard.
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With the win, Nadal now has a semifinal against Alexander Zverev set for Friday, which also happens to be Nadal’s 36th birthday. Third-seeded Zverev knocked off Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7) in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday.
That match can be viewed on NBC and Peacock.
