Novak Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal's reign as the King of Roland Garros with a thrilling quarter-final win over the defending champion.
The Spaniard has won nine titles here since 2005 – and had lost only one of his previous 70 matches here. But the world No 1 showed he is now the best player on the planet on any surface with a 7-5 6-3 6-1 win in two hours 26 minutes.
It is the end of an era with a new champion guaranteed this year.
The Serb said: “It is incredible. I am very happy. Of course I have a lot of respect for Rafa. Obviously he is not playing at the level we expect of him this season. But he is still a champion and it is still a pleasure to play against him.”
The Wimbledon champion is now two matches away from completing his career Grand Slam.
He will play Andy Murray in the semi-finals on Friday after the British No1 overcame David Ferrer in four sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Djokovic raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set but Nadal fought back to level the scores only to lose 7-5.
The Spaniard could only make 26% of first serves in the second set and then ended the match with a double fault.
Nadal, who has slipped down to No 7 in the world as he has struggled with his game this year, is renowned for his explosive forehand but hit only three forehand winners in the whole match.
