PARIS — It has been quite a chase for Novak Djokovic. For nearly a decade, he has had to eat Rafael Nadal’s red dust at Roland Garros, had to absorb lopsided defeats and agonizingly close losses.
But on a cool, sunny afternoon on the court where Nadal became a global star, Djokovic finally reeled him in.
His 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 victory was a clay-court lesson and a geometry master class, and that it came in the quarterfinals instead of a more decisive round does not diminish the achievement.
Nadal, a nine-time champion here, arrived at this highly anticipated match with a 70-1 record at Roland Garros and a 6-0 record against Djokovic in this tournament.