Intro:

The reign of nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal was ended by Novak Djokovic when the top seed won their quarter-final at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Serena Williams reached the semi-finals after beating Italy's Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3. Timea Bacsinszky will face Williams after beating Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5.

Script:

Novak Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal's 39-match French Open winning run, beating the nine time champion in a surprisingly lopsided quarter-final 7-5 6-3 6-1.

It was only the second defeat for Nadal in 72 career matches at Roland Garros.

The other came in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling.

Since that lone previous setback, Nadal had collected a record five consecutive French Open trophies.

The Serbian world number one had lost all six previous matches he'd played against Nadal in Paris, including the 2012 and 2014 finals.

Earlier in the day, Serena Williams needed just 65 minutes to overcome Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3 to book her place in the semi-finals.

The top seeded American, seeking her 20th Grand Slam title, proved too powerful for her Italian opponent.

Williams required just 27 minutes to take the first set, but the 17th-seeded Italian, who lost the final here in 2012, tested her a little more in the second.

Williams will now face Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky after she beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5.

The 23rd seed becomes the first Swiss woman since Martina Hingis in 2001 to reach the last four at Roland Garros.