They toyed with us for three sets and then they contrived to produce yet another epic.

And as always at the French Open, Rafael Nadal won.

Novak Djokovic, the world No.1, threw everything at the Spaniard and when he led 4-2 in the final set, he was agonisingly close. But in an eerie echo of their marathon Australian Open final of 2012, when Nadal led 4-2 in the fifth only to lose, this time it was the other way round as he recovered to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7.

Tomorrow, he will play his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the final and, barring a big upset, he will have his teeth into a record eighth Coupe des Mousquetaires.

"It was a really emotional match," the 27-year-old Nadal said. "Both of us played for a lot of moments at a very high level. I lost a similar one in Australia. Today was for me. I'm very happy the way I played and more than happy the way that I fought in the fifth set after losing a big chance in the fourth. That's probably the most difficult thing to do, and I did it."

In a repeat of last year's final, played in warm, breezy conditions, Nadal served for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set only for Djokovic, thriving in adversity, to hit back, take the tiebreak and then break in the opening game of the decider.

But the resilience, the outrageous defence and the sheer refusal to give in that has taken Nadal to seven titles here helped him break back for 4-4 and then again in the 16th game for an emotional victory.

When Djokovic's final forehand flew long, Nadal turned to his family and friends, waving his finger in a No.1 gesture; on clay, of that there is no doubt. Having returned in February after seven months out with a knee injury, Nadal has reached the final of all nine of his tournaments, with a chance tomorrow to win a seventh title of 2013.

It was all too much for his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, who went through the usual roller-coaster of emotions in the stands. "For us it is really a miracle, it is incredible," Toni said, before turning his back on the waiting reporters, wiping tears from his eyes.

Edition 35 of the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry lived up to its billing, even if for three sets it was more fits and starts than full throttle. Nadal won the opening set thanks to his greater consistency but from 2-3 in the second, the aggressive Djokovic found his range and reeled off four straight games to level, only to dip physically in the third.

Chasing the only grand slam to have eluded him, Djokovic looked beaten when Nadal broke for 4-3 in the fourth but he broke back, did it again at 5-6 and then won the tiebreak 7-3. The standard at the end of the fourth set and throughout the fifth set was astounding and it was the Serb who struck first with a break in the opening game. But Nadal, playing with the wind behind, got the break back, thanks in part to a mental let-down from Djokovic at deuce when he touched the net after a volley before the ball was dead.

Both men held comfortably to 8-7 before Nadal, again using the wind, moved to 0-40 on the Djokovic serve. He had three chances; he only needed one.

"It's been an unbelievable match to be part of, but all I can feel now is disappointment," Djokovic said. "He showed courage in the right moments and went for his shots. When he was break down in the fifth he made some incredible shots from the baseline.

"I congratulate him, because that's why he's a champion. That's why he's been ruling Roland Garros for many years, and for me it's another year."

The French crowd had hoped Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would reach the final and keep alive hopes of a first home champion since 1983.

After being outplayed in the first set, Tsonga forced a set point at 5-4 in the second but once Ferrer had taken the tiebreak 7-3, he raced through the third to reach his first grand slam final with a 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 victory.