‘Vibes are different with Rafa’ – Djokovic on ‘historic rivalry’

Novak Djokovic said “the vibes are different” this year as he meets Rafael Nadal in the French Open semi-final for the second consecutive time, following a win over Matteo Berrettini at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Serbia’s Djokovic beat Italy’s Berrettini 6-3 6-2 6-7 7-5 in their last-eight encounter in Paris, while earlier in the day, Diego Schwartzman was no match for Nadal as the Spaniard sailed through to his 14th French Open semi-finals.

Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said: “It’s not like any other match, let’s face it, the biggest challenge you can have is playing against [Rafa] Nadal on this court in which he has had so much success in his career in the final stages of the Grand Slam, it doesn’t get bigger than that.

“Each time we face each other there’s the extra tension and expectation and vibes are different… walking on the court with him, but that’s why our rivalry has been historic for this sport and I’ve been privilege to play him so many times.”