French Open - 'You can't play better than this' - Andy Murray hails 'perfect' Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
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Updated 11/06/2021 at 22:48 GMT
World number one Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal put on a masterclass at Roland Garros in their semi-final as they met for the second consecutive year. Djokovic lost to the 13-time champion in Paris last year and the pair played some absurdly good shots during their huge French Open clash - so much so, Andy Murray was among those lauding the match.
'Where did that come from?' - Djokovic laughs at Nadal brilliance with mad shot
Andy Murray has taken to social media to hail the incredible tennis played by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during their French Open semi-final.
Both players traded winners with an array of incredible rallies which thrilled the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd and the standard of play simply could not have been higher.
Djokovic and Nadal put on a masterclass at Roland Garros as they met for the second consecutive year, and this time the Serb came through in four sets to triumph and reach the final.
Djokovic lost to the 13-time champion in Paris last year and the pair played some absurdly good shots during their huge French Open clash - so much so, Murray was among the stars lauding the match.
"You cannot play better clay court tennis than this," Murray said. "It’s perfect."
Andy Roddick added: "To this point, it’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen."
An 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.
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.
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'How on earth?!' - Djokovic wins incredible rally then whips up crowd
"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."
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'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.
Djokovic 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 .
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Highlights: Djokovic overcomes Nadal in classic battle in Paris
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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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