It wasn't easy, but the King of Clay moves on to fight another day, as Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in his semi-final French Open match to move on to the finals.
The Spaniard needed five sets to defeat Djokovic, the number one men's player in the world, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7. Nadal let the match almost slip away twice in the fourth set before rallying back to the fifth set.
"It has been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment," Djokovic said of his instant classic match with Nadal. "I wanted this title so much."
Djokovic had stated he wants to win the French Open in honor of his childhood coach, who passed away last week. Djokovic almost made his wish come true. Serving at 4-3 in the fifth set, Djokovic came forward successfully smashing a volley, but his momentum carried him into the net, The chair umpire awarded the point to Nadal.
Three points later, he drove a forehand into the net, losing the game and evening up the score once again. In the 14th game of the set, Nadal made the shot of the tournament when he ran back for lob, flicked the ball between his legs while on the run, with his back to the net. Djokovic ended hit the easy overhead into the net.
"That's why he's a champion," said Djokovic. "That's why he's been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it's another year."
Nadal has dominated the clay-court tournament and will play for his eighth French Open title in nine years, on Sunday, and can make history with a win over David Ferrer, becoming the first man to win eight championships at the same Grand Slam event.
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