Federer ends Djokovic's 43-match streak

PARIS -- Dusk was descending, wind was swirling and full-throated chants of "Ro-ger! Ro-ger!" from 15,000 or so fans finally were hushing as Roger Federer stepped to the baseline to serve -- one point from returning to the French Open final and one point from ending Novak Djokovic's 43-match winning streak.

Federer rocked back, unfurled his body and whipped an ace, his 18th Friday, to seal a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Djokovic, then roared and wagged his right index finger, as if telling the world, "I'm still No. 1!" So what if the official ranking says otherwise?

Federer will go for his 17th major singles title, and second at Roland Garros, in Sunday's final against longtime nemesis and five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated Andy Murray, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, to improve to 44-1 here.

By summoning all of the strokes and resolve required to win a taut, tense contest with a lot on the line, Federer also managed to do what no one else had in quite some time: defeat Djokovic, who entered the day 41-0 in 2011 and unbeaten since losing to -- guess who? -- Federer in late November.

"I wasn't here to spoil the party," said the third-seeded Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the 2009 French Open. "Almost feels, somewhat, like I've won the tournament, which is not the case. Silverware is still out there to be won, and I'm looking forward to the match with Rafa." It'll be their fifth meeting -- and fourth final -- in Paris since 2005. Nadal, who turned 25 Friday, is 4-0 in those matches, part of his 16-8 overall lead head-to-head.

Djokovic is the only other player to have beaten Federer more than eight times, including a 3-0 mark this season before Friday. It was at this tournament a year ago that Federer lost to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals, ending his streak of reaching the semifinals at a record 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. A month later, Federer lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, too.

Semifinal exits followed at the U.S. Open in September -- after wasting two match points -- and the Australian Open in January, both against Djokovic. Add it up, and it means Federer went more than a year without reaching a major final, which wouldn't be a big deal for anyone else, but certainly was for a guy who'd never been through that long a drought since winning his first major title at Wimbledon in 2003.

Long considered one of the top talents in tennis, Djokovic credited a handful of factors with helping him excel recently: more maturity; confidence from helping Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in December; a gluten-free diet he now refuses to discuss in any detail. He won his second major title at the Australian Open in January and had beaten Nadal in two tournament finals on clay in May.

"It had to end somewhere," said the second-seeded Djokovic, who would have clinched the No. 1 ranking with a victory over Federer and will move up anyway if Nadal loses Sunday. "Best five months of my life, my tennis career."

Nadal's victory over the fourth-seeded Murray was far more compelling and competitive than a typical straight-set sweep. It lasted more than three hours -- and because the tournament pushed back the start of the men's semifinals from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. to accommodate TV -- Federer and Djokovic didn't start until nearly 6 p.m.

By the end of the match, at 9:36 p.m., it was tough to see. Both men knew that if Djokovic managed to push their semifinal to a fifth set, play would have been suspended for the night and resumed Saturday.

Djokovic later pulled out of the Queen's Club tournament next week, citing a knee injury.