PARIS Rafael Nadal insists he cannot know if a match will be his last at Roland Garro as he DUEL did on Tuesday in another memorable duel against Novak Djokovic. The Spanish star will continue to play games here.

With a mixture of brilliant shots and his usual superhuman stamina, Nadal beat Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Tuesday to move into the French Open semifinals.

"You can only win against Novak in one way, playing hard from the first point to the last," Nadal said. "This has been one of those best nights for me."

It was for anybody lucky enough to be in the stands or watch television.

With his victory, the Spaniard moved another step closer to obtaining his 14th championship in this Grand Slam tournament on clay courts. With this, he would also extend his record, with his 22nd title in the significant events.

The match began a little after 9 p.m. Tuesday and ended more than four hours later. It started in May and ended after 1 in the morning at the start of June.

 It indicated that this was a quarter-final left. But it is like a last because of the quality of the game, the level of effort, the expectation generated, and the atmosphere surrounding everything.

One thing was missing: There was no trophy to give to the winner.

"Playing against him is always a great challenge," Nadal said. "We have many stories together. Today's was another."

Nadal prevented Djokovic (1st seed) from stringing together titles in Paris. He further ensured that the Serb stayed behind him on the list of all-time major winners, with 20.

The Mallorcan improved its record in his career at Roland Garros. Me to Djokovic, including one in the semifinals last year.

This duel was the 59th between both legends. No other pair of rivals have collided more often in the opener.

Nadal cut Djokovic's lead in the duels between the two to 30-29.

Showing no trace of the chronic pain he has said he suffers from in his left foot, Nadal also did not seem to suffer from the fatigue of his duel against Felix Ager-Aliassime on Sunday in the fourth round.

"I'm not surprised at all," Djokovic's said. "It is not the first time that he can recover in a few days, after being injured and barely able to walk, to reach 100% physically."

On Friday, Nadal will turn 36 and face third-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. He will thus seek to avenge the elimination of his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

Many people predicted that Alcaraz, the 19-year-old rising star, would emerge as the French Open champion. One day it might be, but not yet. Instead, Zverev still has a chance to win his first Grand Slam title.

Zverev ended Alcaraz's 14-match winning streak by beating him 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 76 (7) on Tuesday and reached the Roland Garros semifinals for the second consecutive year.

"I told him on the net, 'you are going to win the tournament many times, not just once,'" said Germany's Zverev, a 2020 US Open semifinalist and gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics last year. "Hopefully, I can win him before he starts ... beating us."

In women's tournament action, 18-year-old American Coco Gauff will take on 28-year-old Italian Martina Trevisan, w her first Grand Slam semifinal.