Novak Djokovic compared defeating Rafael Nadal at the French Open to scaling Mount Everest as he hailed Friday’s epic semi-final triumph over the 13-time champion as “one of my greatest victories”.
Djokovic condemned Nadal to only his third loss in 16 years and 108 matches at Roland Garros to reach his sixth Paris final after a classic showdown which even beat the country’s Covid-19 curfew.
In their 58th career clash, Djokovic triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and stays on course to capture a 19th major and become the first man in over 50 years to win all four Slams twice.
Djokovic, the 2016 champion in Paris who had also beaten Nadal in the 2015 quarter-finals, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final in what will be his 29th championship match at the Slams.