French Open - 'Where did that come from?' - Novak Djokovic laughs at Rafael Nadal brilliance with mad shot

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 11/06/2021 at 19:42 GMT

World number one Novak Djokovic said "the vibes are different" this year as he prepared to meet Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year after losing to the 13-time champion in Paris in the final last year. The pair played some absurdly good shots during their huge French Open semi-final, and one was so brilliant that Djokovic just had to laugh at it.

Novak Djokovic was left so astounded by one shot from Rafael Nadal that all he could do was shake his head and laugh at it during their French Open semi-final.

The world number one played some sublime tennis of his own in the early stages as both players traded winners with an array of incredible rallies which thrilled the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd.

But certainly the most unusual and amazing shot came with Nadal attempting to save three break points on his own serve in the second game of the second set.

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While Djokovic would go on to break serve in response to the Spaniard winning the opening set 6-3, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros saved this particular break point with a truly sublime effort.

'It's just not on!' - Djokovic forced to wait as Nadal takes long break

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"It has to be that good at the moment!" exclaimed Eurosport's Simon Reed on commentary as Nadal left Djokovic laughing with a drop shot played while running backwards and to the side in a desperate reaction.

"Where did that come from?" wondered Miles Maclagan, also on commentary.

"You see how sweetly the return was struck that it forced Nadal into that sort of shot, but the hands are just so good, the awareness of where the racket face is."

'Lights out play!' - Nadal with 'something special' against Djokovic

Djokovic, 34, has won the French Open once, in 2016, compared to Nadal's 13 titles at Roland Garros but both men are in the hunt to end their careers with the most Grand Slam titles to their names.

The winner of this titanic clash will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas, who earlier reached his first Grand Slam final - and made history by becoming Greece's first to do so too.

The fifth seed showed all his class and supreme form as he battled past Alexander Zverev, 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 in their semi-final on Friday afternoon.

The Greek star, who was playing in his third successive Grand Slam semi-final, had to hold his nerve in a dramatic deciding set and was .

'Very emotional' - Tearful Tsitsipas gives powerful interview after reaching final

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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title and two surprise names in the women's final in Paris.

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