The reigning French Open champion Novak Djokovic has ended his run at the 2022 Roland Garros. Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal in a thrilling quarter-finals match that lasted more than four hours.
Nadal had a fierce opening of the match, massively outplaying Djokovic in the first set and winning 6-2. The Serbian bounced back in the second, finding his rhythm and winning the set 6-4.
The third set also saw a one-sided affair, with Nadal returning to the top with a 6-2 display. The fourth, however, was a much closer contest. It was determined in the tiebreak, where Djokovic found himself on the losing end despite managing to save three match points.
Speaking after the match, Nadal downplayed his win and said that it’s only a step towards his final goal, which is adding another Roland Garros trophy to his resume.
“It has been a very emotional night for me. I’m still playing for nights like today,” Nadal said. “But it’s just a quarter-final match, no? So I didn’t win anything. So I just [need to] give myself a chance to be back on the court in two days, play another semifinals here in Roland Garros. [It] means a lot to me.”
Nadal will now continue to chase his 14th French Open title, which would help him extend his record Grand Slam haul to 22. He faces Alexander Zverev in the next round.
