Murmurs of Rafael Nadal’s reign coming to an end were mulled yet again, as the claycourt king upset archrival Novak Djokovic 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in a classic French Open quarter-final clash on Tuesday.

The 13-time Roland Garros champion, who was beaten by the world number one in the semi-finals here last year, arrived in Paris hobbled by two injuries.

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After surviving a five-set thriller against Felix Auger Aliassime in the previous round, the Spaniard, who has only lost three times at the French Open since his debut in 2005, knows every inch of the enormous court Philippe Chatrier and Djokovic paid for the reminder.

The Serbian is still on 20 Grand Slam championships after being prevented from competing in the Australian Open by local authorities for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a major that Nadal won.

On the same day that adolescent Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out, Nadal flung punches and had defending champion Djokovic on his toes in a high-octane opening under the spotlights.

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Djokovic fought back in an 88-minute second set, but Nadal, 35, found the resources to end it in four sets despite being a break down in the fourth and set up a meeting with German third seed Alexander Zverev for a place in Sunday’s final.

Zverev previously defeated Alcaraz in four sets to secure his semifinal berth.

“It’s a very emotional moment for me. Thank you everyone. It’s incredible, the support I get from you. Everyone knows how important it is for me to play here. It’s the most important tournament of my career,” after the four-hour, twelve-minute tug of battle, Nadal stated on the court.

“Very tough match. Djokovic is one of the best players in history. Playing against him is always a big challenge. Against him there’s only one way to play – at your best level from the first point to the last. And today was a magic night for me. Unexpected level from me,” Nadal added.

The tone of the heavyweight showdown was set with a 10-minute opening game won by Nadal on Djokovic’s serve.

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“Rafa, Rafa!” chanted the fans.

He broke again with a signature forehand winner down the line before serving out the first set when Djokovic committed his ninth unforced mistake.

The Serbian went behind 3-0 in the second set, but Nadal recovered with a badly executed drop shot.

Djokovic’s face lit up with a smile. Djokovic broke again on his fifth try in a crucial 18-minute sixth game as Nadal’s backhand flew wide.

In the next game, he had a breakpoint, but Nadal was playing too short, and the Serbian bagged his fourth successive win in a dramatic turnaround.

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Djokovic levelled the match after Nadal held for 4-4 but cracked on serve at 5-4.

The Mallorcan, on the other hand, raced to a 4-1 lead in the third set and wrapped it up on yet another unforced error from Djokovic.

Djokovic reclaimed the upper hand to establish a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, but Nadal refused to go into a fifth set, breaking back for 4-5 before prompting a tiebreak in which he gave his rival no opportunity.