Look: Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic in late-night thriller at French Open

Serbia's Novak Djokovic (left) and Spain's Rafael Nadal pose before their men's quarter-final singles match on day ten of the French Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

The 35-year-old left-hander pinned Djokovic back and punished him with fizzing forehand winners.

He won the 50-minute opening set by taking two of his four break opportunities and saving both of Djokovic's two.

Nadal showed why he is the greatest player in French Open history as he beat the Serbian 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) in a late-night thriller to reach the semi-finals.

Djokovic's season has been disrupted by not being allowed to play in the Australian Open and tournaments in the United States because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.

Not that this will bother Nadal one bit. He secured victory at 1:15am local time after over four hours on court and meets third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday in the semi-final.

Victory for fifth seed Nadal avenged his semi-final defeat by Djokovic last year and extended his all-time record on the Roland Garros clay to 110 wins in 113 matches.

"Nadal showed why he is a great champion and stayed mentally tough. No doubt he deserves it," said Djokovic.

In a match watched by a 15,000-capacity crowd, Nadal earned another memorable win on the court where he has enjoyed the greatest successes of his career. His hopes of winning his 14th French Open title are still very much on.

"It was an emotional night and I still play for nights like tonight," said Nadal, who won seven of 17 break points and saved eight of 12 for Djokovic.

"But it is just a quarter-final and I still have a semi-final to come. I will stay emotionally stable and get ready for the semi-final."