Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic produced another classic tennis encounter in their 59th meeting with the Spaniard triumphing to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
Their meeting was imminent since the draw was announced with the two mavens of tennis not disappointing in another battle.
It was ultimately Nadal who prevailed 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) over Djokovic extending his quest for a 22nd Grand Slam.
A 10-minute opening game won by Nadal on the Djokovic serve signaled the things to come.
He broke a second time with a trademark forehand winner down the line before wrapping up the first set on serve.
The Serbian fell 3-0 behind in the second but after being given a way back into the match leveled the match by taking the second set.
The Mallorcan, however, started the third set in a similar fashion as the first, racing to a 4-1 lead and wrapping it up on yet another unforced error from Djokovic.
In a see-saw contest, Djokovic regained the upper hand to open a 3-0 lead in the fourth set but Nadal would not go into a fifth set, breaking back for 4-5 before forcing a tiebreak in which he gave his opponent no chance.
Nadal, beaten by Djokovic last year, not only avenged his loss but prevented the Serb from having a chance to match his 21 grand slam titles.
Remarkably, Nadal has only lost three times in Paris since making his debut in 2005 accumulating 13 titles along the way.
He will face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.
German third seed Alexander Zverev capitalized on an error-filled performance from Carlos Alcaraz to beat the teenaged Spaniard 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7) and reach a second straight semi-final at the French Open.
Alcaraz made 56 unforced errors as Zverev saved a set point in the fourth set tiebreak before converting his second match point to set up a meeting against the 13-time French Open champion.
