Nadal sees off Djokovic in Paris

(CNN) -- Friday's French Open semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, billed by some as the real final, lived up to the hype.

Nadal, ultimately, was the happier man after an epic match that lasted more than four and a half hours on a sweltering day in Paris.

The defending champion moved within a match of making it a record extending eight French Open titles by defeating the world No. 1 6-4 3-6 6-1 5-7 9-7.

Nadal will now be the heavy favorite to beat either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Sunday's final.

Tsonga is bidding to become the first Frenchman since Yannick Noah in 1983 to win a major, while Ferrer has also never won a grand slam.

Nadal, in his 35th meeting against Djokovic, improved to 5-0 against the Serb at the French Open. But for a while it appeared as if Djokovic would inflict more woe on Nadal in a gripping rematch of last year's final.

Djokovic had topped Nadal in three straight grand slam finals beginning in 2011, downing him in six hours in the 2012 Australian Open finale.

"Today it was me and that was the good thing," Nadal told the crowd in an interview on court.

Djokovic led 4-2 in the fifth set -- after Nadal blew a break lead in the second and couldn't serve out the match in the fourth. It was just the second time Nadal has been taken to five sets at Roland Garros.

The thriller wasn't without controversy.

With Djokovic leading 4-3 in the fifth and at deuce, he put away a simple smash.

Chair umpire Pascal Maria, however, ruled that he touched the net before the ball bounced twice -- giving Nadal the point.

Djokovic won the next point to revert to deuce -- instead of holding for 5-3 -- and Nadal eventually broke for 4-4. Maria earlier gave both players a warning for taking too much time between points.

Nadal made the better start, gradually taking control of the first set in the hot conditions thought to suit him -- his heavy ground strokes move through the court quicker and his balls bounce higher.

With Djokovic spraying shots and Nadal hitting deep, the Spaniard broke for 4-3.

He saw off Djokovic in the opener and seemed headed for a win when he broke again for 3-2 in the second.

But not for the first time in the encounter, Nadal would drop his serve in the ensuing game. A rattled Nadal lost four games in succession and the match was level.

Nadal stormed to the third set and again held the lead in the fourth. He broke for 4-3, only to drop serve for 4-4.

Unusually for Nadal, he couldn't close out the match when trying to serve it out at 6-5.

Surging in confidence, Djokovic took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker. As Nadal hit shorter, Djokovic was allowed to step in and crush his ground strokes.

A reeling Nadal was broken to start the fifth but rallied, aided by Djokovic erring on several overheads.

Via: Nadal sees off Djokovic in Paris