Rafael Nadal insisted he still has work to do to win a 14th French Open despite knocking out Novak Djokovic and said it was “too late” to be playing after their quarter-final ended in the early hours of Wednesday. 

On track

The Spaniard is still on track for a record-extending 22nd men’s Grand Slam title and will face third seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals on his 36th birthday on Friday. Nadal took his head-to-head against defending champion Djokovic at Roland Garros to 8-2 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) win which finished after 1:00 am local time.