Casper Ruud knows he will have to play his "best tennis ever" if he is to have "any chance" against his idol Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.

Ruud defeated Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 in his semi-final on Friday to join Nadal in the Roland Garros decider.

This will be Ruud's first grand slam final, while Nadal is preparing for his 30th – and 14th in Paris alone.

Each of the previous 13 on the red clay have ended in Nadal wins, and his opponent is well aware of the task before him.

"To play Rafa in a Roland Garros final is probably the greatest challenge there is in this sport," Ruud said. "I believe he's 13-0 in the finals, so that just shows that it might sound like an impossible task.

"But of course I will give it a shot like the other 13 people before me have done.

"It's obviously going to be tough. We all know what a great champion he is and how well he plays in the biggest moments and the biggest matches. I'm just going to try to enjoy it.

"I will be the underdog, and I will try to tonight and tomorrow night dream about great winners and unbelievable rallies, because that's what it's going to take if I want to have any chance, and I will need to play my best tennis ever.

"But I still have to believe that I can do it, and I think part of my game today was working very well. In the end, I was playing great in the third and fourth set."

Ruud is not shying away from the challenge, even if he is happy simply to join the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in playing Nadal in a final, describing it as "something I can always brag about after my career".

He added: "It would be nicer to be able to brag about the title as well after my career."

Ruud has never played Nadal on the ATP Tour, but that does not mean this is their first meeting, as the Norwegian was part of the Rafa Nadal Academy.

The pair have faced one another in private – not that those encounters can offer Ruud much encouragement.

"He pretty much has always beaten me," he said. "There's been some close sets, 7-6, 7-5, but it always goes his favour.

"But it's because we are playing in the academy and I want to be nice to him..."

Casper Ruud weathered an early storm as he saw off Marin Cilic and set up a shot at Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.

The Norwegian has this week become the first man from his country to reach a grand slam quarter-final, then he bettered that by advancing to the semi-finals, and now the final beckons after a 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 triumph.

A clay-court specialist, who has more match wins, finals and titles among ATP Tour players than anyone else since the start of the 2020 season, Ruud showed the expertise that could make him a handful for 13-time champion Nadal on Sunday. Ruud describes Nadal as his "idol".

This match was interrupted during the third set by a climate change activist who fastened herself to the net, but Ruud, who had forged ahead in the set, kept his head in the trying circumstances.

Cilic had made a strong start, but the 33-year-old Croatian's assault became less threatening as Ruud got a grip on proceedings. At 5-4 ahead in the second set, Ruud fell 0-40 behind on serve but retrieved that precarious situation in style, sealing the game and levelling the match with a marvellous backhand winner down the line.

Suddenly erratic, Cilic missed a routine smash to give Ruud a break point at the start of the third set, and although the server saved that one, another misfired overhead from the Croatian meant the game slipped away.

A delicious floated low backhand across court and out of Cilic's reach gave Ruud a double break, and he was not knocked out of his stride by the intervention of the activist, with the players briefly led off court.

The man from Oslo wrapped up the third and tore through the fourth set, serving out to love at the first time of asking, and now the ultimate challenge awaits.

Data slam: Ruud racing through the rounds

Ruud has become the first man since Sweden's Robin Soderling in 2009 to reach his first Roland Garros fourth round, quarter-final, semi-final and final in the same year. Soderling lost in straight sets to Nadal in the final.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Ruud – 41/21
Cilic – 51/56

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Ruud – 16/0
Cilic – 10/2

BREAK POINTS WON/LOST

Ruud – 5/15
Cilic – 2/9

A female climate change activist chained herself to the net on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the French Open semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud.

The woman, who identified herself online as a 22-year-old named Alizee, came from the stands during the third set.

She wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan "We have 1028 days left".

The shirt also carried the web address of the Derniere Renovation organisation, which is aligned to similar groups worldwide.

That website portrayed the woman on its front page, with the headline: "A citizen disrupts the semi-final of Roland Garros."

That was confirmation it was a pre-planned exercise, with the woman quoted as saying: "We are in 2022 and it is time to look at the reality in the face, the world to which politicians are sending us is a world to which Roland Garros will not be able to exist.

"Today, I went onto the court because I can't take the risk any more of not doing anything in the face of the climate emergency."

The group's website urged the French government to take action, saying it had sent it an ultimatum, declaring citizens had "entered into civil resistance".

"France has been condemned by its own courts for climate inaction. The future of this country is literally destroyed. To waste time is to perish," the group added.

The incident was an embarrassment to French Open organisers, with security inside the main show court unable to prevent the woman marching out onto the court and locking herself to the net.

Play was interrupted with the players briefly taken off court, before the woman was removed from the court by four security men and the match resumed.

Rafael Nadal says battling through the pain of his foot injury makes reaching his 14th French Open final even more enjoyable.

Nadal missed a part of the 2021 season with a foot problem that has hampered him throughout most of his career, but returned to win the Australian Open in January.

That made him a 21-time grand slam winner, a record in men's tennis, and he now aims for his 22nd major at Roland Garros – a venue where he is a 14-time champion.

Casper Ruud or Marin Cilic will be the Spaniard's opponent in Sunday's final in Paris, after Alexander Zverev retired almost two sets into a gruelling semi-final on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Nadal on Friday.

The 36-year-old, who celebrated his birthday with semi-final victory, was quick to express his well wishes for Zverev both on the court and later in a news conference, with the German suffering an ankle injury.

Nadal is the third player in the Open era to reach 30 or more grand slam finals, after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (both 31), and he believes playing through the pain has been worth it.

"I explained everything going through my mind after Rome, and nothing changed," Nadal told reporters. "At the same time, I was not very positive after that about my foot, but I was positive that I will be able to play here.

"I played, I fought I did all the things possible to give myself at least a chance to be where I am and happy of course to be able to give myself another chance to play here in the final of Roland Garros.

"That means a lot to me. All the sacrifices and all the things that I need to go through to try to keep playing, really makes sense when you enjoy moments like I'm enjoying in this tournament.

"If you like what you are doing, you keep going. If you like to go and play golf, you keep going to play golf. If I like to play tennis and if I can and I can handle to keep playing, I keep playing because I like what I do.

"If I am healthy enough to play, I like the competition. I like to play in the best stadiums in the world and feel competitive at my age still.

"That makes me feel in some way proud and happy about all the work that we did."

Nadal led Zverev 7-6 (10-8) 6-6 before the world number three had to retire, though the encounter had lasted for over three hours by that point.

It was the third time in as many matches that Nadal has toiled on the clay in Paris, having overcome Djokovic in four sets after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set thriller.

Nevertheless, Nadal assures he is fit and fighting in preparation for the showpiece as he aims for a 14th French Open triumph.

"Physically I'm okay. Normally my problem is not the physical performance," he added. "Of course today the conditions have been very hot, super humid.

"I know from experience that when these conditions happen, I suffer a bit more physically. It happened to me in Australia against [Denis] Shapovalov.

"Today was different, not that crazy but I was suffering. There was a lot of up-and-downs during the match, but a good level of tennis with great points."

Rafael Nadal advanced to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev suffered a horror injury blow almost two sets into a gruelling semi-final on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Zverev was helped from the clay in a wheelchair before returning on crutches to retire, having gone over on his ankle as he was taken to a second-set tie-break after Nadal claimed the first set 7-6 (10-8).

Having been out on court for over three hours despite not finishing two sets in a demanding encounter, Nadal secured a clash with either Casper Ruud or Marin Cilic in Sunday's final as he bids for a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title.

Zverev made an ideal start when breaking Nadal's service in the first game of the match, but Spain's king of clay hit back in the eighth game of the opener, eventually winning a fiercely competitive tie-break to conclude a draining 91-minute set.

Nadal struggled to build on that success in a bizarre opening to the second set, which opened with four consecutive breaks as the Spaniard failed to win a single first-serve point until his third service game.

Having been broken again to go 4-2 down, Nadal made light of any suggestion he was feeling the effects of his four-set quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic, roaring back with another break as Zverev cut a frustrated figure, arguing with the umpire after being warned for shouting an obscenity.

Worse was to come for Zverev during the exact point at which Nadal forced another tie-break, with the third seed left crying out on the clay after appearing to roll his ankle while chasing the Spaniard's forehand.

Having been helped into a wheelchair to exit the court, a distraught Zverev returned on crutches to thank the umpire after a short interlude. That meant Nadal progressed to his 14th Roland Garros final on his 36th birthday, although not in the circumstances he might have imagined, and the 21-time grand slam winner cut a subdued figure as he wished his opponent a speedy recovery.

"It's very tough and very sad for him, he was playing an unbelievable tournament, he's a very good colleague on the tour," Nadal said of Zverev.

"I know how much he's fighting to win a grand slam, and for this moment he was very unlucky. The only thing I am sure of is that he's going to win not one but many more. So, I wish him all the best and a fast recovery.

"It was a super tough match, three hours and we didn't even finish the second set. It's one of the biggest challenges on the tour today to play against him when he's playing at such a high level.

"For me, everybody knows, to be in the final one more time, it's a dream."

Data Slam: 30-up for Nadal as the king of clay closes on another success

Nadal's victory, while arriving in less-than-ideal circumstances, made him just the third player in the Open Era to have reached 30 grand slam finals. Nadal has won each of his previous 13 Roland Garros finals, though he still trails both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for overall major finals (both 31).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal 21/26
Zverev 40/47

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal 3/1
Zverev 5/8

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal 5/11
Zverev 5/8

Andy Murray says he can draw inspiration from Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic's impressive French Open form as he eyes a resurgence at Wimbledon.

Nadal and Cilic are in the semi-finals at Roland Garros, and could well book themselves an appearance in the final against each other on Friday.

Having beat Dutchman Gijs Brouwer 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) to book a quarter-final spot in the Surbiton Trophy this week, Murray admits he can look to the pair for proof of longevity.

"I can take some inspiration from those guys," the 35-year-old stated after reaching the last eight in London.

"I don't know whether it's Rafa's last run or not because he seems to be doing physically really well during the event, so I hope he's able to continue going for a while.

"Cilic as well, he's someone I grew up with in the juniors and played a lot with. He has just made the semis of the French for the first ever time at 33 and is playing really well."

Having sat out the clay courts at Roland Garros to prepare on grass for Wimbledon, Murray will hope a deep run in the Surbiton Trophy can prepare him well.

"I have done a lot of training, practised a lot, so now I need the matches and hopefully I'll get a bunch of matches to get me ready for Wimbledon," he added.

French Open director Amelie Mauresmo has apologised for suggesting women's tennis lacks the "appeal" of the men's game after drawing the ire of world number one Iga Swiatek.

Mauresmo – herself a former two-time grand slam winner who made the French Open quarter-finals on two occasions – made the comments while discussing the lack of women's matches played during the night sessions at Roland Garros.

This is the first edition of the French Open to feature night sessions – but women's matches under the floodlights have been few and far between to date.

On Wednesday, Mauresmo suggested this was down to the men's game being more popular with spectators, saying: "In this era that we are in right now, I don't feel – and as a woman and former player, I don't feel bad or unfair saying that right now you have more attraction. Can you say that? Appeal? For the men's matches."

Those comments were labelled "disappointing and surprising" by top seed Swiatek, who will play teenager Coco Gauff in Saturday's final.

But Mauresmo has now apologised for the comment, telling the Tennis Channel: "I want to say sorry to the players that really felt bad about what I said.

"The comments that I made were taken out of the wider picture, out of the context. Because we have one match only, I feel that it's really tougher to schedule a women's match because we have to take into consideration the length [of the match]. I feel it's the fair kind of thing to do for the ticket holders.

"I think the people who know me, who've known me on and off the court, throughout my career, throughout everything that I've done, know that I'm a big fighter for equal rights and women's tennis, women in general."

The scheduling of night matches in the French capital has attracted other criticisms since the tournament began, with 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal claiming "it is too late, without a doubt" after his five-set quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic ended at 1:15am local time on Wednesday.

While the sessions will stay on the agenda at future editions, Mauresmo insists concerns over late finishing times, as well as the balance between men's and women's matches being showcased at favourable broadcast times, must be reviewed after the tournament.

"I feel that next year, in order to be able to be more fair to the women players, as well as to both categories actually, it would be good to maybe have the possibility to put two matches or maybe a women's match plus a doubles match," Mauresmo added.

"[We will] try to find a better solution to be fair to everyone. We tried to modernise the event. We tried to move forward, and I can see that there are some adjustments to be made, that's for sure. We're going to talk about it after the tournament."

French Open semi-finalist Casper Ruud has refuted Holger Rune's claim he yelled in his face after winning the duo's feisty quarter-final clash, accusing the teenager of telling "a big lie".

Ruud beat Rune 6-1 4-6 7-5 (7-2) 6-3 on Wednesday to set up a final-four clash with the resurgent Marin Cilic, scheduled for Friday.

After his defeat, Rune told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that his opponent had shouted at him.

"The team is really nice and sweet, but then he [Ruud] goes straight to me and shouts 'Ja!' straight up in my face," he said.

Rune also accused Ruud of showing "a lack of class", moving the Norwegian to respond in an interview with Eurosport.

Ruud, who is enjoying the best grand slam campaign of his career, has accused Rune of lying in the aftermath of the contest, although he acknowledged emotions were running high at the end of their three-hour encounter.

"No, what he says is wrong," Ruud said. "What he says is really not what happened. We both were in the dressing room after the match, and it's obviously a huge dressing room. There are many players, so we were just in our own part of the room all the time.

"I took an ice bath, ate some pizza and listened to music before we went home. Holger sat in his part of the dressing room.

"How he creates the story of me shouting 'yes' straight into his face is just a lie. It never happened. It's a big lie. It's disappointing that he creates lies about me.

"For me it doesn't matter if he thinks I am a player who doesn't follow the fair play rules, that's not really what matters.

"That's his personal opinion, but to put out lies about me like this is not right. I really wish this is the last time he will do something like this.

"I understand that some players are more emotional than others, and I am as well sometimes. He is obviously someone who plays with many emotions involved.

"I am not surprised about that, but it's a shame that he comes up with all these lies against me and my family."

Rafael Nadal has declared he does not want this to be his final French Open.

The announcement from Nadal seems to put to bed the theory that he could announce an immediate retirement if he wins the title for a 14th time at Roland Garros on Sunday.

Nadal, who takes on Alexander Zverev in Friday's semi-finals, is battling a long-troubling foot problem in Paris and remarkably saw off Novak Djokovic in an electrifying showdown on Tuesday night.

His pain threshold appears to be far beyond that of the average human, and Nadal has brought a doctor with him to France to further improve his prospects of lasting the distance.

Friday also marks Nadal's 36th birthday, and he has dropped heavy hints that this might be his final fling.

However, if that proves to be the case, it will be with heavy reluctance on Nadal's part, as he made clear on Thursday.

Speaking to Spanish broadcaster TVE, Nadal said: "I have always had things clear. I accept things as they come. At no time do I intend for it to seem like a farewell.

"What happens is that there is a reality that today is what it is. We will continue working to find solutions to what is happening down here.

"I trust and hope to be able to return. What happens is that there is a year to go, and it is evident that these last months, not these last three, I would say that since last year they are being difficult.

"The day-to-day with everything that entails is being difficult, not because of the effort that it entails for me, but also to maintain competitiveness. I play to be competitive, which is what really makes me happy.

"We are going to enjoy the moment and after this we will continue thinking about the things that need to be improved, and the hope is to continue."

There would seem a strong chance that Nadal elects to miss the grass-court season in order to rest up, but he continues to defy expectations, so nothing can be ruled out. 

Should he triumph in a grand slam for a 22nd time on Sunday, it would take him two clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time list.

Nadal's record at this tournament is quite extraordinary, surpassing the achievement of any other player in tennis history at a single grand slam.

Alongside his 13 French Open titles, he has won 330 of the 364 sets he has contested at the event and owns a 110-3 win-loss match record.

Some 88 of those wins at the French Open have come in straight sets, and from 2010 to 2015 he reeled off 39 victories in succession, until Djokovic beat him in the quarter-finals.

Nadal has won 23 6-0 sets at his favourite major, including subjecting Federer and Djokovic to such torture in the 2008 and 2020 finals respectively.

Zverev has only been to one grand slam final, losing at the US Open to Dominic Thiem in 2020, but may think his time is coming after an impressive quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old widely acclaimed as the next clay-court king.

It might help the German that the spotlight will be fixed on Nadal, too, as it invariably is on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

There has been no collective chasing away of Nadal amid the talk that his career could be on the rocks, and no media agenda involved. This is a thrilling late-career resurgence from the Spaniard that many, albeit perhaps not Djokovic supporters, would like to see continue.

This time he has laid his injury situation quite bare, and magical nights such as the four-set epic against Djokovic this week are becoming increasingly loaded with poignancy.

As Nadal said in a news conference after that match, regardless of his intentions, this could well be his French Open farewell.

"Yes, I can't say another thing, no?" Nadal said. "I am very clear about that, no?

"I am old enough to not hide things or come here and say a thing that I don't believe. I don't know what can happen. I think, as I said before, I'm gonna be playing this tournament because we are doing the things to be ready to play this tournament, but I don't know what's gonna happen after here.

"I mean, I have what I have there in the foot, so if we are not able to find an improvement or a small solution on that, then it's becoming super difficult for me.

"I am just enjoying every day that I have the chance to be here, and without thinking much about what can happen in the future.

"Of course I'm gonna keep fighting to find a solution for that, but for the moment, we haven't. So to just give myself a chance to play another semi-final here in Roland Garros is a lot of energy for me."

Iga Swiatek ticked off a whole host of accomplishments as her 34-match winning streak carried her into the French Open final on Thursday.

The world number one was in sensational form heading to Roland Garros after winning five consecutive tournaments.

And there has appeared little prospect of Swiatek slowing in Paris, with her 6-2 6-1 defeat of Daria Kasatkina securing a sixth WTA Tour final appearance in a row.

Swiatek is the first player to make six finals in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams reached seven before the halfway mark in 2013.

She has also now matched Williams' best winning run this century, with only Novak Djokovic in 2011 (43), Roger Federer in 2006 (42) and Venus Williams in 2000 (35) enjoying longer sequences across both the ATP and WTA Tours since 2000.

Swiatek's feats are all the more impressive given her age, as she turned 21 just this week.

Now with 20 wins at Roland Garros, the 2020 champion is the youngest female player to that mark since Martina Hingis in 1999.

Only eight women – Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Hingis, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic – have reached their second French Open final at a younger age.

Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian man to make a grand slam semi-final after seeing off teenager Holger Rune in four sets at the French Open.

Wednesday's encounter was already a history maker, with Ruud having become the first male player from Norway to have reached a major quarter-final, while Rune was the first from Denmark to make the last eight at Roland Garros.

Yet while Rune at times showed the volatility of youth – albeit with flashes of the quality that makes the world number 40 one of the brightest prospects on the ATP Tour – Ruud's composure got him through in the end as the 23-year-old prevailed 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

Ruud breezed through the first set, striking four aces and 14 winners on his way to claiming the opener 6-1 with a little over 30 minutes on court.

Yet any chances of Rune rolling over were dispelled when the youngster broke Ruud straight back after conceding serve to go 3-2 down in the second set.

Having fended off a break point, the crucial double break came Rune's way to seal the 55-minute second set 6-4.

Rune endured a nervy hold of serve to start the third set, and once again the Dane – vocal in his frustration throughout – showed great resilience to hit back and break immediately after Ruud had nosed ahead at 4-3.

A second break point of the set went missing for Ruud, but the Norwegian was clinical in the tie-break, getting on top of Rune with some aggressive shots to regain the momentum.

With the match edging over three hours, Ruud upped the tempo, easily holding on each of his serves but making Rune work hard on his own.

Three unforced Rune errors handed Ruud three breakpoints, with the chance to serve for the match begging, yet the 19-year-old's resolve came to the fore again as he clawed his way to deuce with a wonderful cross-court forehand.

But this time, Rune could not swing the pendulum in his favour as Ruud broke at the fourth attempt, with a supreme forehand winner down the line sealing his victory.

Data slam: Maiden grand slam semi for Ruud

The world number eight is enjoying a fine season. He already has two titles under his belt, including a triumph in Geneva prior to the French Open, which followed on from reaching the semi-finals in the Internazionali d'Italia.

But for the first time in his career, he is into the final four of a major, with Marin Cilic (the fourth Croatian male player to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals in the Open Era) standing in his way of a place in the final.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Ruud – 55/24
Rune – 54/46

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Ruud – 13/1
Rune – 1/4

BREAK POINTS WON
Ruud – 5/17
Rune – 3/6

Marin Cilic beat Andrey Rublev in a five-set classic on Court Philippe-Chatrier to reach the French Open semi-finals for the first time.

The 2014 US Open winner produced an incredible quarter-final display as he dominated a final-set super tie-break to down the Russian 5-7 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-2) after four hours and 10 minutes of absorbing tennis.

The win means the Croatian, the 20th seed at this year's edition of Roland Garros, has reached at least the semi-finals of all four grand slams, with the French Open the only major at which he has yet to reach a final.

Rublev enjoyed the upper hand early on, claiming the first set with a display of clinical serving and forcing the all-important break in Cilic's final service game, as the seventh seed failed to give up a single break point during a strong start. 

But Cilic bounced back in the second, breaking with a big forehand winner in Rublev's first game on serve before clinging on in a series of drawn-out service games of his own.

The 33-year-old had to be more patient in the third, breaking in game seven with a winner to end a 16-shot rally to turn the match on its head, only for Rublev to fight back to force a decider.

The Russian won 92 per cent of first-serve points during a big-hitting fourth set, finally breaking in the eighth game before neither player could convert their one break point apiece in the decider, as an epic encounter required the use of the newly introduced super tie-break.

After four hours of intense back-and-forth, Cilic produced a classy display to blow a visibly frustrated Rublev away, claiming the tie-break 10-2 to set up a final-four meeting with either Casper Ruud or Holger Rune.

Speaking after the win, Cilic hailed the quality on display during the titanic tussle, saying: "It was an incredible battle and Andrey played incredibly well. It was an incredible performance [from both players].

"There was a lot of heart and one had to go down. Today was my day, but Andrey also played an incredible match, bad luck to him.

"Unfortunately I lost that fourth set, I thought I was close to getting the break at some points and Andrey played some great games, but when you play this long there's always going to be ups and downs."

Data Slam: Cilic joins greats in completing semi-final set

Cilic's superb win made him just the fifth active men's player to have reached at least the semi-finals at each of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, after world number one Novak Djokovic and former number ones Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Cilic - 88/71

Rublev - 35/31

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Cilic - 33/2

Rublev - 15/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Cilic - 2/7

Rublev - 2/8

Rafael Nadal spectacularly progressed to a 15th French Open semi-final, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday.

Nadal had lost to Djokovic on only two of their past nine meetings at Roland Garros, and the 13-time French Open winner raced out the blocks as he twice broke the world number one to claim a 4-1 first-set lead.

The Spaniard swiftly secured the first set on Court Philippe-Chatrier and opened with another break after a mammoth 17-point game, which Nadal eventually won on his seventh break point.

Djokovic faltered again on his next service to fall 3-0 down but immediately made amends by breaking Nadal consecutively to fight back for control.

Nadal had a chance to take the set to 5-5, but was broken after pushing his shot long and the Serbian ultimately triumphed in the second set in an hour and 24 minutes.

Nadal then responded by taking the third set in stunning fashion, seemingly cruising to take it 6-2.

Djokovic regained a semblance of control early in the fourth set but was crucially broken back in the ninth game as the crowd urged on Nadal, who built momentum and started hitting flatter.

It was a critical point in the match and Nadal displayed incredible capacity to turn defence into attack, while unforced errors crept into the first seed's game.

On his third attempt in the game, Nadal finally secured the break with a sumptuous off-forehand, punishing Djokovic who dropped the ball short.

Suggesting this could be his last game at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old played with profound determination and assertiveness, taking the fourth-set tie-break 7-4.

Data slam: The King of Clay reigns over Djokovic

With Tuesday's win in four sets, Nadal moved to an 8-2 record over 10 matches at Roland Garros against the world number one.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 57/43
Djokovic – 48/53

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal – 3/4
Djokovic – 5/4

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal – 7/17
Djokovic – 4/12

Rafael Nadal spectacularly progressed to a 15th French Open semi-final, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday.

Nadal had lost to Djokovic on only two of their past nine meetings at Roland Garros, and the 13-time French Open winner raced out the blocks as he twice broke the world number one to claim a 4-1 first-set lead.

The Spaniard swiftly secured the first set on Court Philippe-Chatrier and opened with another break after a mammoth 17-point game, which Nadal eventually won on his seventh break point.

Djokovic faltered again on his next service to fall 3-0 down but immediately made amends by breaking Nadal consecutively to fight back for control.

Nadal had a chance to take the set to 5-5, but was broken after pushing his shot long and the Serbian ultimately triumphed in the second set in an hour and 24 minutes.

Nadal then responded by taking the third set in stunning fashion, seemingly cruising to take it 6-2.

Djokovic regained a semblance of control early in the fourth set but was crucially broken back in the ninth game as the crowd urged on Nadal, who built momentum and started hitting flatter.

It was a critical point in the match and Nadal displayed incredible capacity to turn defence into attack, while unforced errors crept into the first seed's game.

On his third attempt in the game, Nadal finally secured the break with a sumptuous off-forehand, punishing Djokovic who dropped the ball short.

Suggesting this could be his last game at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old played with profound determination and assertiveness, taking the fourth-set tie-break 7-4.

Data slam: The King of Clay reigns over Djokovic

With Tuesday's win in four sets, Nadal moved to an 8-2 record over 10 matches at Roland Garros against the world number one.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Nadal – 57/43
Djokovic – 48/53

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Nadal – 3/4
Djokovic – 5/4

BREAK POINTS WON

Nadal – 7/17
Djokovic – 4/12

Carlos Alcaraz was philosophical after his French Open elimination at the hands of Alexander Zverev, adamant he has no need to blow it out of proportion.

Despite being seeded three places below Zverev, the 19-year-old Spaniard went into their quarter-final as many people's favourite.

But after a slow start that Zverev punished, Alcaraz's second grand slam quarter-final proved a learning curve.

Zverev ultimately won 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6 (9-7) to clinch his maiden top-10 scalp at a grand slam, though the German acknowledged he managed to end the contest just as Alcaraz was starting to take charge.

As such, the sixth seed felt there were plenty of reasons to feel positive about his tournament.

"I would say I finished the match playing better," he said. "I leave the court, leave the tournament with the head very high. I fight until the last ball. I fought until the last second of the match, and I'm proud of it.

"I have to take the lesson today. It was a tough match and close match I think. I could say I didn't start well, and in this level, quarter-final of a grand slam, you are playing against the best players in the world, so you have to start the match better than I did today.

"I have to improve to the next grand slam or next matches. But I would say I'm not far away to reach a semi-final or be able to win a grand slam.

"I would say I have the level, I have the confidence to win a grand slam or pass through to the semi-final next time.

"I mean, this match is not going to be tough for me or I'm going to say I'm disappointed for this match. I'm just going to try to take the positive things of the match, and of course the bad things that I did, to improve to the next matches or next tournaments or next grand slams.

"I could say I was close to a good match, close to a fifth set, and in the fifth set everything could happen.

"This was my second quarter-final in a grand slam, and I think I fight until the last ball and hope to the next grand slam, next quarter-final that I play in a grand slam, [hope to] do it better and to my chances to pass to the semi-finals."