The long-awaited quarter-final delivered a showdown of crazy intensity that lasted 4:12. Gorgeous. Suffocating. Overwhelming. In strength or finesse, by lining up the dragster races, by resisting the threat of a desperate return from Novak Djokovic, by adapting to conditions which over the minutes made his lift less piercing as the thermometer left s escaping precious degrees, Rafael Nadal struck down the world No. 1, the defending champion.

At Roland-Garros, the stadium carried by a vast extension and modernization project has changed a lot in recent years, while remaining attached to its soul and its memories. At the heart of this perpetual movement, an actor holds a special place. For him, nothing changes. Or almost. Rafael Nadal (36 years old on June 3), the sublime endless story. The Spaniard saw his statue set up on the site but enjoys repelling the ravages of time, inhabited by an incomparable fury to win. Indestructible.

Rafael Nadal entered the court carried by cheers. Behind his back, Novak Djokovic, impassive, suffered whistles. From the first balls of the warm-up session, the looks and the intensity betray a burning desire to do battle. Boxers released in the ring do not observe an observation round. The Spaniard’s game plan, renowned for the quality of his defense, boils down to one position, clinging to his line to project himself forward, limiting the Serb in his expression. Nadal drops his effects with ferocity. Djokovic, sublime of abnegation, unfolds like an octopus, twists his elastic body to resist lasso forehands that slam, resonate. The Serb braces himself, applies himself. Duelists with a long common history, unparalleled tightrope walkers, share a thread that none of them wants to descend from. Worn out, Novak Djokovic ended up giving in after saving three match points (6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6).

Before the meeting, Carlos Moya, the Spaniard’s coach had assured, placid: “On clay Rafa is always favorite”. A sentence slipped without pretension. Just carried by the story of an extraordinary player who won his 109^e victory in… 112 matches at Roland-Garros. And relies on a success rate of more than 90% on clay since the start of his career. He who has 62 of his 92 titles on his favorite surface. Dizzy. Prodigious. But Nadal always wants more. Still… He remains in contention for a 14^e title at Roland-Garros. A 22^e Grand Slam crown. In the semi-finals, he will meet Alexander Zverev, whom he has dominated six times in nine matches but whom he has never met at Roland-Garros. The German will attack a monument…

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