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Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Spain's Rafael Nadal in three sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Wednesday, June 3, 2015. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Spain's Rafael Nadal in three sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Wednesday, June 3, 2015. (AP Photo/David Vincent)David Vincent/Associated Press

French Open 2015: Results, Scores, Winners and Wednesday Twitter Reaction

Tyler ConwayJun 3, 2015

For the first time since 2009, there will be a new men's champion at the French Open. Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets Wednesday, ending the nine-time champion's record-setting winning streak and perhaps setting himself up to complete the career Grand Slam.

Djokovic, who is undefeated on clay this season, had no trouble in the 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 romp. The world No. 1 was victorious on 70 percent of his service points, losing only two break points as he dominated the pace of the entire match.

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"In general, Novak [was] in control most of the time," Nadal said, per Greg Garber of ESPN.com. "He was better than me—that's it. Is simple when opponent play better than you; he's in better shape than you. It happens. Just congratulate him."

Quarterfinals(1) Novak Djokovic(6) Rafael Nadal7-5, 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals(3) Andy Murray(7) David Ferrer7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
Quarterfinals(1) Serena Williams(17) Sara Errani6-1, 6-3
Quarterfinals(23) Timea BacsinszkyAlison Van Uytvanck6-4, 7-5

Nadal, who dropped to 70-2 at Roland Garros, was no match. He double-faulted twice, barely won over half of his serve points and made 30 unforced errors against 16 winners. It was the type of utter dominance typically seen by Nadal on clay flipped 180 degrees.

“He’s the best player of the world without any doubt today,” Nadal said before the match, per Leo Schlink of the Daily Telegraph. “Very dominant."

That level of dominance was largely absent in the first set, which saw the two favorites put on an epic show fitting of the pre-match billing. Grinding their way through every point, there was almost no separation between the two. Both struggled with their serve, as Djokovic broke Nadal three times and Nadal broke Djokovic twice. The Serb's third break of the Spaniard wound up giving him the set 7-5, but at the time, it felt like we were gearing up for another Djokovic-Nadal classic.

That wasn't the case. Not even close.

Djokovic did not face a single break point in the final two sets, ramping up his level of play as Nadal faltered. Nadal hit seven winners and won four games as Djokovic went out 6-3, 6-1. In the end, Nadal goes on the scorebook as just another opponent. His nine games won are the same amount as Djokovic's first- and second-round opponents.

The win for many will signal a continued changing of the guard for men's tennis. Nadal has struggled with his form all season, winning one tournament and descending down the world rankings. By contrast, Djokovic has been nearly unstoppable, losing twice all year and putting himself in position to finally overcome his French bugaboo.

Djokovic moves on to play third-seeded Andy Murray, who earned a 7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over David Ferrer in their quarterfinals matchup. Murray will be making his second straight French semifinal, having been taken down by Nadal a year ago. Djokovic and Murray will be meeting for the second time this year in a Grand Slam, with the Scot falling short at the Australian Open final.

Murray, though struggling with his serve accuracy, looked primed to give Djokovic a challenge in his win over Ferrer. He hit nine aces, dominated on first-serve points and overcame an excellent performance from Ferrer near the net. While his Slam record against Djokovic leaves a bit to be desired, it's possible his form will be a little bit off coming off the high of beating Nadal.

On the women's side of the bracket, another top seed's rampage through the field continued without incident. Serena Williams had no trouble with 17th-seeded Sara Errani, taking down the Italian 6-1, 6-3 in a breezy 66 minutes. Williams put up 10 aces and had 39 winners, 30 more than an overmatched Errani. The world No. 1 broke Errani five times and won 56 percent of her return points. After dropping the first set in each of her last three matches, Williams finally looked like a real contender.

"I definitely felt more in control, and I felt I had to be again going up against a player that plays well on this surface in particular," Williams said, per Jim Caple of ESPNW. "I had only one option, and that was to gain control of myself, my emotions and my game.''

Williams will play 23rd-seeded Timea Bacsinszky, who continued her career-best run with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Alison Van Uytvanck. Bacsinszky turned in one of her steadiest matches of the tournament, winning 46 percent of her receiving points and even doing better on her second serves than her first.

The 25-year-old had never advanced past the third round before this year's French, making her the ultimate underdog against Williams. That said, she's already taken down an impressive array of talent heading into the semifinal. Fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova and American Madison Keys were Bacsinszky victims, and she'll literally have nothing to lose going against Williams.

"For me, it doesn't matter who I'm going to be playing against," Bacsinszky said, per BBC Sport. "I just want to have one or two or three tactics and try to put them in the game."

Williams is looking to win her third French Open and second in three years. After more than a decade of struggles on clay, it appears she's conquered that surface as well. Her struggles in the early rounds at least give Bacsinszky an outside shot at the upset, but it's looking increasingly like we'll have top-seeded champions in both brackets.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter  

5 Insane Nadal Facts 🤯

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