Rafal Nadal beat Djokovic to enter into French open final

PARIS: Rafa Nadal displayed the athleticism and self-belief that earned him seven French Open titles to tame world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7(3) 9-7 in a pulsating 4-1/2 hour Roland Garros semi-final on Friday.

Nadal had stood two points from the final in the fourth set when he inexplicably let Djokovic off the hook by dropping serve at 6-5 up.

Djokovic blitzed through the fourth set tiebreak 7-3 and then streaked into a 4-2 lead in the decider when Nadal’s fighting instincts kicked in to leave the Serb floundering.

A forehand long on match point secured Nadal an unprecedented eighth appearance in the Paris final and a meeting against either home hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.