Two of the greats in tennis produced another great encounter as Rafael Nadal outdueled Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals at the French Open in a four-hour epic.

Nadal kept his hopes alive of a staggering 14th title in Paris with a four-set victory over his rival in their 59th clash.

The fifth seed took out the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.

Most pundits expected the victor of this clash to face teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals but the young gun was stunned by Alexander Zverev earlier on Wednesday, as the German secured his first-ever win over a top 10 player at a major.

Nadal landed a major blow by winning the first set 6-2, ending Djokovic's 22-set winning streak, before the Serbian fought back in the second set amid some incredibly long games.

He won the second set 6-4 in a remarkable 84 minutes in what is developing into an absolute epic.

Nadal hit straight back to claim the third 6-2 to take a two-set lead. He then closed out victory in a fourth set tie-breaker fighting back from 3-0 down.

Fans boo Djokovic to start fourth set

For the first time in the match, Djokovic actually held serve to start a set. But he showed signs of frustration in the very next game, smacking the net with his racquet after missing an easy volley.

That gesture sparked boos and jeers from the crowd.

But Djokovic feeds on hate and the rollercoaster ride continued as he broke Nadal to go ahead 3-0.

Odd sight as trend continues to start third set

For the third time in the match, Nadal opened a set by breaking Djokovic's serve.

After being rattled in the back half of the second set, the Spaniard regained his composure and went up 3-1 the clock ticked towards midnight local time.

All the momentum Djokovic rode in the second set looked to evaporate as Nadal roared back into the contest with a double break for a 4-1 advantage as the temperature dropped considerably in the French capital.

Daily Mail tennis writer Mike Dickson tweeted: "All the folks in the courtside corporate boxes covered in blankets — it's starting to look like the Eastbourne seafront in April."

Fellow tennis reporter Gasar Ribeiro Lanca added: "Even when it's 20C during the day, temperatures drop in the evening and night sessions become cold and windy, which not only affects the crowd, but also conditions/quality of the match. They just don't make sense in this tournament."

The temperature wasn't worrying Nadal, who claimed the third set 6-2 as Djokovic lost his way badly.

Astonishing drama as Djoker fights back

The second set started the same way as the first — with a marathon opening 13-minute game resulting in another Nadal break.

Djokovic let out a roar — the first real sign of visceral emotion we'd seen from the Serbian today — when he forced yet another deuce, but his opponent kept his cool and closed out his seventh break point opportunity for a 1-0 lead.

Nadal went up 2-0 then secured a double break to march towards a 3-0 lead, before Djokovic finally scored a break of his own and held serve to work his way back to 2-3.

For the first time in the match, Djokovic looked like he was getting comfortable. He turned the tables on the 21-time major winner, forcing the issue with thundering ground strokes and gaining the ascendancy.

An astonishing 18-minute, 43-second game fell in Djokovic's favour and it was all level at 3-3 after his second break of the set.

Djokovic then let out a huge roar at the change of ends after holding serve for 4-3 as he mounted his comeback. Incredibly, it took nearly 30 minutes to complete two games as both players threw everything at each other.

Soon it was 5-4 and Djokovic kept his foot on the throat, breaking again to claim the set 6-4 in 84 minutes.

'Oh my': Rafa rocks Novak in first set

Nadal broke Djokovic in a marathon opening game that lasted a whopping 10 minutes — leading fans to suggest they were in for a long night in Paris.

The 35-year-old consolidated his position as he moved to 3-1 in the first set after nearly half-an-hour.

Nadal continued to pile on the pain for his rival, breaking again and after 40 minutes he had blitzed ahead 5-1.

BBC commentator David Law told The Tennis Podcast Nadal was looking ominous. "Watching in the stadium and there is a sickening thud to the way Nadal is hitting the ball tonight. This is different. Terrifying. But also satisfying," Law said.

Djokovic held then showed some punch in the eighth game but a bad backhand miss handed Nadal set point and he didn't waste his chance, forcing another error that gifted him the opener 6-2 in 49 minutes.

Djokovic had won 22 sets in a row coming into today's clash but that streak ended at the hands of his greatest rival.

Ironically, it was Djokovic struggling under the Parisian night sky. Nadal said before the match he wanted their quarter-final to be scheduled during the day, when he prefers to play at Roland Garros, but tournament organisers rejected that request in a boost for Djokovic, who wanted to play at night because he knew Nadal wouldn't like it.

But the Serb was having more trouble adjusting to the slower conditions, failing to have an impact with ground strokes that lacked any fizz.