A streak of five consecutive French Open victories is over for Rafael Nadal after he was beat in straight sets by No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. Nadal, “The King of Clay,” hadn’t lost in the French Open since 2009 when he fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round, snapping a streak of four French Open titles, and had never before lost in the tournament in straight sets.
French Open 2015 scores: Novak Djokovic ends Rafael Nadal’s dominance at Roland Garros
Rafael Nadal was dispatched from the French Open in straight sets for the first time ever by Novak Djokovic.
Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Djokovic set the tone early by winning the first four games of the match, including a stellar rally, but had to hold off Nadal, who won the next four games to tie the first set, 4-4. After winning the first set, 7-5, Djokovic took over with decisive wins in the next two sets to dispatch the player with the most wins ever at the French Open.
The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that Djokovic hasn’t won and is the second of the four tournaments. He won the Australian Open in January by defeating Andy Murray in the final.
With the victory on Wednesday, Djokovic advances to the semifinals where he will face the winner of a match between No. 3 Murray and No. 7 David Ferrer. The other semifinal is already set and will feature a matchup of No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 8 Stanislas Wawrinka. None of the five men still in the tournament have ever won the French Open before.
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