The two players, who have won 15 of the last 17 French Open titles, will meet again on Tuesday in the quarter-finals in what is one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.
They have faced each other 59 times — more than any other two men in the sport’s professional era — and are relatively evenly matched; Nadal leads the Grand Slam tally with 21 titles, while Djokovic leads the head-to-head 30-28.
On clay, the rivalry is more skewed in favor of Nadal, who has won seven games compared to Djokovic’s two.
Nadal’s dominance at this tournament was such that his fourth round victory over Félix Auger-Aliassime yesterday marked only the third time in his career that he was taken to five sets at Roland Garros.
But in that fifth set he showed his genius on clay. After two sets and three games in total, a flicker of a breakpoint appeared for Nadal as he led 15-30 during the Auger-Aliasime service game.
With two extraordinary passes, Nadal broke the young Canadian and ended the game with few incidents afterwards.
World No. 1 Djokovic, meanwhile, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.
It continued his perfect start to the tournament in which he had yet to drop a set.
“Of course it was a long-awaited game for a lot of people, I think, when the draw came out,” said Djokovic, looking ahead to his quarter-final against Nadal.
“I’m glad I didn’t spend too much time on the pitch until the quarter-finals, knowing that playing him at Roland Garros is always a physical battle along with everything else.
†[It’s] a huge challenge and probably the biggest you can have here at Roland Garros. I am ready.”
“Of course we know each other well. We have a lot of history together,” said Nadal after his fourth round victory.
“Here we are at Roland Garros. It is without a doubt my favorite place. I don’t know what will happen, but all I can guarantee is that I will fight to the end.”
In such a fierce rivalry, every detail matters. For the first time this year, tournament organizers have planned an evening session that could influence the outcome of the match.
Nadal prefers the warmer conditions during the day when the field is faster, while Djokovic prefers the colder and slower night.
The playing order will be announced on Monday.
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will meet in the other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw.