World Number 1 Novak Djokovic overcame a gritty challenge challenge from fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final of the 2020 French Open before securing a hard fought win over the Greek to book a place in the grand finale of the grand slam against arch rival Rafael Nadal.
The top seed Djokovic fended off a resilient fightback from Tsitsipas to win a grueling semifinal encounter in five sets with the score-line reading 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6 and 6-1. The epic last four match at Roland Garros lasted three hours and 54 minutes.
Djokovic will now take on his arch rival and 12-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the grand finale of the men’s singles to be played on Sunday.
Earlier on Friday ((October 9), defending champion Rafael Nadal beat 12th seed Diego Schwartzman in the first of the men’s singles semifinals at Roland Garros to storm into the finals at the French Open for a record extending thirteenth time.
The 2016 French Open champion looked in full command in the semifinal encounter post racing to a 2-0 lead after winning the opening two sets, but Tsitsipas staged a brilliant fightback to eventually break the Serbian’s serve in the third set and prevent a straight set loss. Tsitsipas then played a very aggressive brand of tennis to clinch the fourth set and force the epic semifinal into a fifth set decider.
Djokovic brought all his experience to the fore and came out all guns blazing to trounce his much younger Greek opponent in the fifth and deciding set to advance into yet another finals on the red clay at Roland Garros.
Djokovic who won the Australian Open earlier this year and clinched his 17th slam (singles) of his career is chasing an 18th Grand Slam title while his opponent Rafael Nadal can equal Roger Federer’s tally of 20 grand slam (singles) titles.
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