Tonight sees two titans of the court face off for a place in the French Open final four as Rafael Nadal takes on Novak Djokovic.
For all of Nadal’s dominance on the Paris clay, with 13 Roland Garros title to his name, it’s world number one and top seed Djokovic who goes into the clash as the favourite.
The Serbian is yet to drop a set in the tournament and is on a nine-match winning run, after winning the Italian Open earlier this month. Djokovic can also take confidence from his last meeting with Nadal, which he won in four sets in the French Open semi-finals last year.
Injuries hampered Nadal’s preparations going into the second Grand Slam of the year, particularly frustrating for the Spaniard considering he started 2022 by winning the Australian Open as part of a run of 20 straight victories.
Nadal had to battle past Felix Auger Aliassime as he eventually won 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the last 16 and he will have been disappointed to see the match against Djokovic has been scheduled for the night session.
“I don’t like to play on clay during the night, because the humidity is higher, the ball is slower, and there can be very heavy conditions especially when it’s cold,” Nadal said last week.
“I think that makes a big difference between the way tennis is played on clay during the night and during the day.”
Djokovic was not so disappointed. “All I will say is Rafa and I would make different requests,” he commented.
Date, venue and UK start time
The quarter-final match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will take place today, Tuesday, May 31 2022.
With it scheduled for the night session on Philippe Chatrier, the players will take to the court at approximately 7:45pm BST.
Alexander Zverev or Carlos Alcaraz will face the winner in the semi-finals.
How to watch Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
TV channel: The blockbuster clash will be shown on Eurosport. Eurosport 1 HD is channel 410 on Sky, 435 on BT and 521 on Virgin Media.
Live stream: The tournament will be available online via discovery+, with a monthly pass costing £6.99. Every match across all courts will be shown both live and on-demand.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal head-to-head record
The pair have met 58 times before, including in the final of all four Grand Slams. While Djokovic leads the overall head-to-head, Nadal has won 10 of the 17 matches played at Slams.
This will be the tenth meeting at the French Open - Nadal won the first six but Djokovic has won two of the last three.
Nobody has beaten Djokovic more than Nadal. Nobody has beaten Nadal more than Djokovic.
Djokovic wins: 30
Nadal wins: 28
Match odds
Djokovic: 4/9
Nadal: 9/4
Odds via Betfair. Subject to change.
