Delightful from Novak Djokovic as he combines the deftest of drop shots with a delicate lob. Rafael Nadal chases it down and scoops it back. The Serb watches it drop, sizes up an overhead forehand on the bounce... and goes long! Wow.

Nadal holds a nine-minute opening game after fending off two break points.

Superb, sweeping winner from Rafael Nadal that wrong-foots Novak Djokovic... but then double faults. Deuce. I hope no one made a dinner reservation.

Nadal fizzes down another absolute wrist-rattler of a serve to stave off the break!

Lovely baseline hitting from the world number one as he forces Rafael Nadal deeper and deeper, before the Spaniard can only coax a forehand long. A second chance to break.

Rafael Nadal solves that conundrum with a meaty ace, complemented by a trademark fist pump. Deuce.

And an early break point for Novak Djokovic... he's got that ominous, steely glare.

Hello! Already a bit of showboating from both players as Novak Djokovic opts for the slice, draws Rafael Nadal in and then lofts the ball over the Spaniard.

Nadal spins, hammers a forehand straight at the Serb but it creeps back over. Nadal makes no mistake with a second forehand that rattles Djokovic's frame. 30-30.

Image source, BBC Sport

While Rafael Nadal's rivalry with Roger Federer may be considered as the most engaging, it is the Spaniard's battle with Novak Djokovic that is the most enduring.

The pair have produced some of the greatest matches ever seen - which include memorable Grand Slam finals and career-defining victories.

They have met in:

• 9 Grand Slam finals

• 5 Grand Slam semi-finals

• 20 other tour-level finals

• 13 other tour-level semi-finals

• 1 Olympic semi-final

It's Djokovic who gets the first point on the board as Nadal tugs a backhand well wide.

The Spaniard follows up with a punchy serve to make it 15-15.

Right then, a quicker turnaround than we anticipated and we're under way in the second men's semi-final of the evening.

Rafael Nadal will serve first.

While Novak Djokovic narrowly leads their head-to-head, Rafael Nadal goes into the match on the back of two successive victories - in last year's Roland Garros final and, most recently, the Italian Open.

Nadal won his 10th title in Rome with a 7-5 1-6 6-3 victory over Djokovic on 16 May.

"I'll probably pick Rafa as the biggest rival I've ever had in my career," said the Serb.

"The anticipation for the match against him, any match, any surface, any occasion, is always different from any other."

Image source, Getty Images

Spain's Nadal and Serbia's Djokovic have won 38 Grand Slam titles between them, with Nadal aiming for a 21st that would move him clear of Roger Federer for the first time in terms of most men's majors.

Nadal is bidding for a record-extending 14th success at Roland Garros, where he has won 105 of his 107 career matches.

Djokovic won his one and only title on the Paris clay in 2016 and is bidding to become the first man in the Open era to win all four Grand Slams twice.

The pair were drawn in the same side of the Roland Garros draw this year, with Nadal seeded third in spite of his incredible record there.

That was because the seeding system is based on the world rankings, meaning Russia's Daniil Medvedev was seeded second even though he had never previously won a match at Roland Garros.

"It's not like any other match," says Novak Djokovic.

"Let's face it, it's the biggest challenge that you can have playing on clay against Nadal on this court in which he has had so much success in his career.

"In the final stages of a Grand Slam, it doesn't get bigger than that."

Image source, Getty Images

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have met more than any other two men in the Open era - and the pair are ready to resume their long-standing rivalry once again in the French Open semi-finals this afternoon

Top seed Djokovic, 34, meets defending champion Nadal, 35, in a repeat of the 2020 final.

The pair have faced each other 57 times, with Djokovic leading 29-28 after Nadal won the past two meetings.

BBC Sport

After that epic, it's the small matter of Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic next.

We're going to grab a quick cuppa (and a lie down) but why not stay listening to our online radio commentary for a special programme on the world number one.

See you in a mo...

More from Tsitsipas: "It was very difficult, very emotional, I went through a lot of phases of emotional breakdowns, this means a lot. This is the most important win of my career so far.

"There were a lot of people raising flags and cheering me on in Greek, it is very important to have these people around, very important for me to do my job well enough to have recognition back in my country.

"I am happy Greece is part of the tennis community now, me and Maria (Sakkari) have been elevating the sport and keeping the Greek tennis hopes alive."

Here is an emotional Stefanos Tsitsipas: "All I can think of is my roots, where I came from, a really small place outside Athens - my dream was to play on the big stage of the French Open one day, I would have never thought that I would.

"It was nerve-wracking, so intense. That fifth set, first game, I think it was the most important game. I came back, stayed alive and had the crowd with me - they were cheering me on and giving me their energy.

"I still felt like there was hope, like there were opportunities for me to fight back and do something, especially when you treat it this way, your only job is to go out and fight."

Tsitsipas, the first Greek player to reach a Grand Slam singles final, is - at 22 years and 305 days - the youngest men's singles finalist at Roland Garros since a certain Rafael Nadal in 2008...

Tsitsipas returns to his feet for his post match interview.

There are tears in his eyes. This is a huge moment for the 22-year-old.

Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent at Roland Garros

Tsitsipas is a Grand Slam finalist for the first time in his life.

Zverev came back strongly - he did so well to save those match points.

And the gamble that his father took to travel round the world with the young Stefanos at the start of the Greek economic crisis has paid off!

A very emotional moment indeed!

Image source, Getty Images