Novak Djokovic ‘changed the course of history’ with French Open win over Rafael Nadal

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Novak Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal at the French tipped the GOAT debate in his favour, according to Ana Ivanovic. Nadal has reigned supreme at Roland Garros throughout his career having won 13 of his 20 Grand Slam titles in Paris.

He looked to be a strong favourite this year as well having enjoyed a strong first week of the tournament.

All eyes were on the men’s semi-finals though with Nadal and Djokovic facing off in a hotly-anticipated match.

It didn’t disappoint either as both players were on the top of their game with the match tied at 1-1.

Neither player gave anything away in the third set though which saw some excellent tennis from the pair of them.

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Djokovic got the all-important third set victory though after a tense tiebreak before completing the win with a comfortable fourth-set win.

It’s only the third time Nadal has lost at Roland Garros since making his debut in 2005 and means he has to wait for another shot at breaking the men’s singles Grand Slam record.

Djokovic though now has a chance to move within one title of both Nadal and Roger Federer on Sunday.

And Ivanovic, who won the French Open in 2008, believes Djokovic has now taken one step closer to becoming the greatest of all time.

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“It was amazing, amazing tennis and I love to watch both of them play,” Ivanovic told Eurosport.

“Novak was so aggressive and some of the rallies were getting me sitting on the edge of my chair and it was really beautiful to see how competitive they both are.

“Absolutely it was [influential in the GOAT debate]. Novak has had many situations like this in the past, even at the US Open a few times needing match points against Federer.

“I’ve seen it happen in Wimbledon I think. So these kind of moments in these kind of matches change the course and write the history.

“Novak has huge support there like all over the world so I’m sure people will be watching that [final] with enthusiasm.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas meanwhile is competing in his first Grand Slam final having lost in the semi-finals on three separate occasions.

The world No 5 has picked up some brilliant wins on his course to the final, including beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

And he survived a spirited comeback from Alexander Zverev on Friday to set up his first chance at winning a Grand Slam title.

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