Rohan Bopanna reaches French Open 2022 doubles semi-final

Rafael Nadal pulled off an incredible win against Djokovic to enter the last four.

Rafael Nadal has defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final of the French Open 2022. The Spaniard justified his ‘King of Clay’ title by beating the Serbian who was the defending champion of the championship at the Roland Garros in Paris, France. It took four hours and 12 minutes to separate these two behemoths of men’s tennis who met for the 59th time. 

The late-night contest at the Court Phillippe-Chatrier took everything out of the two legends of the game. Despite struggling with a foot injury and playing five sets in the previous round with Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nadal was riding on pure determination to win. Although Djokovic held his ground, the 13-time French Open winner took the win by a  6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(7-4) scoreline.

“It was a very tough match, Novak is one of the best players in history, and all the history we have, There is only one way to beat Novak and that is to play at your best.” said an exhausted yet relieved Nadal after the exhilarating contest.

In the aftermath of the win, Nadal is a major favourite to win the Grand Slam. He makes his way to the semi-final and is two wins away from winning it again. However, the upcoming tie against third seed Alexander Zverev will be another massive challenge. The German player made his way into the semi-final by beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain by 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7)

Notable results elsewhere 

A major result in the Men’s Doubles saw India’s Rohan Bopanna reach the semi-final with his partner Matwe Middelkoop from the Netherlands. The pair got the better of Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara by a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(10-3) score. 

They will be playing against Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo in the semi-final. This is the best performance by the 42-year-old Indian in the French Open, playing men’s doubles. Bopanna has won the French Open in Mixed Doubles. But, he is yet to lift the trophy in Men’s Doubles. 

Over at the Women’s Singles, in an all American quarter-final, Coco Gauff defeated Sloane Stephens. The teenager managed to win by a 7-5, 6-2 score to make her way into the semi-final. She will now play unseeded Martina Trevisan of Italy who defeated 17th seed Canadian Leylah Fernandez in three sets. In the other quarter-final, top speed Iga Swiatek will play against American 11th seed Jessica Pegula. 

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