Rafael Nadal suffers French Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal had to leave Roland Garros without the trophy (Christophe Ena/AP)

Rafael Nadal suffered just the third loss of his career at the French Open as Novak Djokovic claimed victory in a sensational semi-final.

The world number one lost the first five games but fought back to win 3-6 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-2 after four hours and 11 minutes, with fans given special permission to stay beyond Paris’ 11pm curfew.