Djokovic ends Nadal’s chance at fifth straight French Open title originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Rafael Nadal’s quest for a second French Open five-peat came to an end Friday at Roland Garros.
The No. 1 tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, bested Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 in the 2021 French Open semifinals and will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men’s singles final on Sunday in Paris.
Nadal has 13 French Open titles to his name, the most for any men’s or women’s tennis player at a single Grand Slam. He won four straight from 2005 to 2008, five straight from 2010 to 2014 and four straight from 2017 to 2020.
This is only Nadal’s third ever loss at the French Open. He was previously 105-2 in his career at the tournament with the two defeats coming against Robin Soderling in 2009 and Djokovic in 2015.
Djokovic now has a chance to get within one on the list of all-time men’s singles Grand Slam titles. Nadal and Roger Federer are tied for the lead at 20 apiece while Djokovic can capture his 19th with a win over Tsitsipas on Sunday. It would be just his second French Open title with the first coming back in 2016.
Djokovic is 5-2 all time against Tsitsipas and has won four straight matches head to head.