Follow along as singles quarter-final action begins at Roland-Garros 2022
©Julien Crosnier / FFTRafael Nadal claimed a huge 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over long-time rival Novak Djokovic, ending the title defence of the world No.1 in the quarter-finals in the early hours of Wednesday morning to storm into the 15th Roland-Garros semi-final of his career.
In the 59th meeting between the duo, Djokovic saved three match points in the fourth-set breaker before Nadal wrapped up a heroic win in four hours and 12 minutes.
Fifth-seeded Nadal took the opening set 6-2 in 49 minutes, breaking the Djokovic serve twice and saving the two break points he faced. The Spaniard hit 12 winners against just six unforced errors throughout the first instalment.
Djokovic claimed a marathon second set that lasted an hour and a half, levelling the contest for 2-6, 6-4.
Nadal wrestled back the moment though, carving a 5-1 advantage in the third, and was soon leading 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
In the fourth set, Nadal trailed Djokovic 2-5 but clawed his way back to force a tiebreak. The Spaniard led 6-1 in the breaker before Djokovic saved three match points. But the world No.1 succumbed on the fourth as an emotional Nadal celebrated his 29th win over Djokovic from 59 meetings.
World No.3 Alexander Zverev is through to the Roland-Garros semi-finals for the second straight year thanks to a 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) victory over Spanish teen phenom Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Zverev avenged his recent Madrid final defeat to Alcaraz and will next face another Spaniard in the form of 13-time champion Nadal.
Zverev saved a set point in the fourth-set tiebreak before completing a three-hour 18-minute success over the 18-year-old - his third over Alcaraz in four meetings.
>> Alcaraz v Zverev: Things we learned
"I told him at the tournament he's going to win this tournament, many times, not only once. I hope I can win it before he starts beating us all," Zverev told Alex Corretja in the on-court interview.
It was Zverev's first top-10 victory at a Grand Slam.
American teenager Coco Gauff advanced to the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career with a convincing 7-5, 6-2 victory over her compatriot Sloane Stephens at Roland-Garros on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old improved on her quarter-final showing in Paris from 12 months ago and becomes the youngest women's semi-finalist at a major since Amanda Anisimova made the last-four here in 2019.
Gauff, the No.18 seed, was broken while serving for the match late in the second set but rebounded to close out a 90-minute victory and book a semi-final showdown with Italian world No.59 Martina Trevisan.
Earlier on centre court, Trevisan became the first Italian woman to reach the Roland-Garros semi-finals since Sara Errani in 2013 thanks to an impressive 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 upset of No.17 seed Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday.
The world No.59 extended her winning streak to 10 matches, having lifted the trophy in Rabat in the build-up to Roland-Garros.
In what was the first all-lefty women's Grand Slam quarter-final since Wimbledon 2014, Trevisan was broken while serving for the victory as the 19-year-old Fernandez saved match point to keep her chances alive and level for 5-5.
The Canadian teenager clinched the second-set tiebreak to force a decider but the 28-year-old Trevisan regrouped to wrap up the win in three sets and reach the maiden major semi-final of her career.
The wheelchair and quad competitions began today at Roland-Garros with expanded draws and some thrilling contests on the agenda.
Spaniard Martin de la Puente was one of the early winners of the day as he double-bagelled French wildcard Guilhem Laget, while Japan's Momoko Ohtani was a three-set victor against Zhu Zhenzhen.
©Loïc Wacziak / FFT
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
