World No.1 Novak Djokovic stamped his tennis authority today, Friday on Rafael Nadal, by beating him in four sets at the French Open to gun for his 19th Grand Slam title.
The semi-final victory was sweeter for the Serbian as he handled Nadal, his third loss out of 108 matches at Roland Garros.
Nadal holds a record 13 titles at the French Open, but he found his 14th semi-final a match not to forget in a hurry.
After beating Djokovic 6-3 in the first set, Nadal found a rejuvenated Djokovic difficult to handle.
Djokovic won the next set 6-3 and the third set in a tie-break 7-6(7-4).
In the final fourth set, Djokovic broke Nadal several times, to race to a 6-2 victory.
The Serbian becomes the first player to beat Nadal in the semi-final.
He next faces Stefanos Tsitispas, who will be playing his first Grand Slam final on Sunday.
For Djokovic, victory will give him the opportunity of winning the four Grand Slams twice and land his 19th, one short of Nadal and Roger Federer’s record tying 20 titles.
