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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will face off in the French Open men's final on Sunday. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PARIS -- Two of the most anticipated matches of the entire French Open\u00A0failed to live up to their hype, as Novak Djokovic remained steady and ended Ernests Gulbis' run in four sets, while Rafael Nadal blew past Andy Murray in three sets. The world No. 1 and the world No. 2 will battle for the French Open title on Sunday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;What happened?&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rafael Nadal routed Andy Murray en route to to a blowout&lt;/strong&gt;: It's no fun playing playing Nadal when he's completely teeing off on his forehand and it's even worse when it's a dry, hot day and you're tired. That's the situation Murray found himself in as he was well off his game physically to be able to handle the barrage of forehand bazookas firing from the Nadal forehand in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 beatdown that lasted a mere hour and 40 minutes. \"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I've only got myself to blame, because I was in control of a lot of the matches that went longer than maybe they should have been,\" Murray said.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Brit spent over four and half hours more on court than Nadal, thanks to five-set matches against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Gael Monfils, and a tough three-hour win over Fernando Verdasco.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"So if that did have anything to do with it, it was completely my fault,\" Murray said.\u00A0\"Ideally playing against him on this surface, the way he's hitting the ball today, you have to do a lot of running, chase a lot of balls down. I couldn't get enough back.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game-by-game analysis of Rafael Nadal's victory over Andy Murray&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the best returners in the game, Murray won just 10 points when receiving and never got a look at a break point. Nadal, serving at a high 76 percent won\u00A041 of 45 points on his first serve and 57 percent of his second serves. He finished with 24 winners to 15 unforced errors, while Murray hit 11 winners to 26 unforced.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"Today he was hitting extremely hard, extremely heavy, returning well, and was hitting it well on the run,\" Murray said. \"Yeah, that's the toughest match I have played against him.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With the win, Nadal made history by becoming the first man in the Open Era to make the final of a single Grand Slam nine times. He held the previous record with Roger Federer, who has made the Wimbledon final eight times. Nadal is now an astounding 65-1 at Roland Garros.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;French Open Day 12 recap: Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep book spots in the women's final&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Novak Djokovic overcame a minor blip to beat Ernests Gulbis&lt;/strong&gt;: Djokovic was cruising, pocketing the first two sets 6-3, 6-3 before he allowed\u00A0a sub-par Gulbis find his rhythm and get himself back into the point. Djokovic finally closed it out 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 after two\u00A0hours and 34 minutes to make his second French Open final.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Djokovic, who usually holds\u00A0his press conferences within an hour of completing his matches,\u00A0delayed his presser, causing\u00A0many to speculate that he's not feeling well.\u00A0Djokovic did admit\u00A0he struggled under the warmer conditions after two weeks of playing in cool weather.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's a clip of Djokovic in his press conference. He doesn't sound great:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[embed]http://youtu.be/R8Ej9PChuW4[/embed]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As for Gulbis, the nerves and tension that came\u00A0with playing in his first Slam semifinal got the better of him, but after his huge run here in Paris, he\u00A0leaves wanting more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game-by-game analysis of Novak Djokovic-Ernests Gulbis&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I'm not going to celebrate,\" he said. \"It's not enough. I need to reach more now. Now I'm addicted to success.\u00A0I felt the success so close, and I don't say that I let it slip, these two weeks, because it's great to play semifinal. I need to make this extra step now. I'm extra motivated now.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All in all, it was a lackluster day in terms of quality, competitive tennis, but Sunday's final featuring the two best clay-courters in the gam should be a another good one.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WERTHEIM: Can Simona Halep take down Maria Sharapova in her first-ever Grand Slam final?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Photo of the day&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Andy Murray wasn't playing his best tennis against Rafael Nadal today. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Racket smash of the day&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; In the upset of the day, Novak Djokovic smashed his racket BEFORE Ernests Gulbis. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Must-watch video&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Gulbis breaks down his match against Djokovic:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[embed]http://youtu.be/60YD3PZrM8Q[/embed]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Tweets of the day&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Who you got, and how many sets? #RG14 pic.twitter.com/Cw6NypA6mz&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Awesome that tennis channel covered first set..... Pumped to wait 3 hours here on west coast to watch it on tape delay at 11am on NBC now&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 andyroddick (@andyroddick) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Again? Lol RT @PseudoErnie: Vika! Let\u2019s hang on my submarine some time. MT @vika7 Ernests been my friend for a very long time and he had a&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 victoria azarenka (@vika7) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Roland Garros players lounge. Toni Nadal kisses Judy Murray &amp;amp; says: \"I'm sorry.\" Judy M replies: \"No you're not.Your boy was too good.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Barry Flatman (@Barry_FlatmanST) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ernests Gulbis, binges results. That's your anagram for today.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Djokovic- Nadal will meet for 43rd time, a men's record. But they'd have to play 38 (!) more times to pass Evert-Navratilova.\n\u2014 Chris Chase (@chaztopher) June 6, 2014&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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