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Novak Djokovic staged a big showdown for the French Open title with Rafael Nadal following a dramatic five-set semi-final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, but insisted that Sunday’s long-awaited championship match “will not be the most important match of my life.”
World number one Djokovic, the 2016 champion at Roland Garros, reached his fifth final in Paris, defeating fifth seed Greek Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 on a mountain Russian from a competition in which she had a match point in the third set.
Nadal, the 12-time champion, edged Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) to reach the thirteenth final of the tournament.
On Sunday, Djokovic can win a major No. 18 and become the first man in half a century to win all four Slams twice.
Nadal, the world number two, can match Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic is one of only two men to have beaten Nadal at Roland Garros in 15 years.
“This is Rafa’s house,” Djokovic said ahead of his 56th career crash and 27th appearance in a Slam final.
“I will have the motivation to win. I beat him in the quarterfinals in 2015, but this will be the biggest challenge: facing Nadal on clay.”
However, the Serb insisted that he has played much bigger finals and signaled his first win over Nadal in a Slam at Wimbledon in 2011.
“I don’t think it’s the most important game I have played in my life. I think there were some more important ones,” Djokovic said as he tried to ease some of the expectations before Sunday.
“In terms of importance, probably the first Wimbledon final that I played against him.
“Wimbledon was always the one I wanted to win as a kid and dreamed of winning. That’s probably the one that stands out.”
Djokovic also put up his final 2016 Paris victory over Andy Murray, allowing him to celebrate a career Grand Slam, on top of Sunday’s final installment of his rivalry with Nadal.
“Every French Open final that I played was the game of my life before winning it.”
On Friday, Djokovic showed no signs of the neck and shoulder injuries that ruined his performance against Pablo Carreño Busta in the final eight by breaking into a comfortable two-set lead.
Tsitsipas had seen 10 break points come and go and his first Roland Garros semi-final seemed headed for an early finish until he pulled off an impressive comeback.
In the 10th game of the third set, Djokovic failed to convert a match point.
He then picked up a time infraction and the Greek took advantage of the sudden uneasiness of the main favorite to claim the third set.
Djokovic blew 10 break points in the fourth set when Tsitsipas, who had also been down two sets in his first match against Jaume Munar, tied the tie.
However, Tsitsipas, feeling a thigh injury in Rome, faded in the deciding match, losing serve twice to give Djokovic a 4-1 lead.
He saved another match point, but was unable to do anything in the third when Djokovic fired a clean winner.
“I think Novak is one of the toughest opponents I’ve ever faced in my life,” Tsitsipas said.
For the 34-year-old Nadal, his win over Schwartzman was his 99th at Roland Garros.
He is in his 28th final in the majors and hasn’t lost a set in the tournament this year.
Nadal holds a 6-1 lead over Djokovic at Roland Garros, although their last meeting was in 2015 when Djokovic won in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
Among their other five encounters in the French capital are Nadal’s victories in the 2012 and 2014 finals.
“Novak is one of the toughest opponents possible. But I’m here to keep doing my best. I like to play in this scenario,” Nadal said.
“I know I have to take a step forward. I think today I did one against Diego. But for Sunday it is not enough.
“I need to make another one. That’s what I’m looking for. I’m going to work hard to make that happen.”
