He lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals in Paris previous year, but he turned the result upside down by beating the second seed Serb 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 in two hours and 15 minutes in a quarter-final encounter.
RAFAEL Nadal's relentless push for a 10th French Open crown continues at lightning speed after the Spaniard reached a record 10th Roland Garros semi-final as Pablo Carreno Busta succumbed to injury.
After squandering two set points in the opener on a blustery Court Suzanne Lenglen, Djokovic's renowned fighting spirit ebbed away quickly and he surrendered the third set in 20 minutes.
In the semi-finals, Murray will face third-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who beat Croat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Despite being the top seed, Murray was not on the list of favorites to win this title, but boy has he played his way into form with impressive wins over Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori along the way.
Djokovic, who had brought in Andre Agassi as coach in an effort to boost his flagging career, hinted he may step back from the sport to regroup even with Wimbledon fast approaching.
"In the semi-final a year ago, Andy was really aggressive", said Wawrinka.
"At the same time, I have responsibility to the game itself, towards others". It's one of the best shots I think ever in tennis.
His next opponent, Austria's 23-year-old Dominic Thiem, is one of the few players now capable of denting Nadal's hull and showed that in a straight-sets win in Rome last month.
He then also held all four majors.
At 5-4 Djokovic had two set points to break the youngster for the third time in the match and seal the opening set but Thiem had plans of his own.
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"All the top players have been through this".
"He was pushing me all the time, so was tough for me to find any solution", recalled the 32-year-old Wawrinka, the oldest man to reach the semifinals in Paris since Jimmy Connors in 1985.
Thiem had lost to the Serb in the semi-finals previous year and took just one game in a straight-sets loss in Rome in May.
Tomorrow's semi-final will be the fourth meeting between Nadal and Thiem this season, all of which have come on clay.
What makes this defeat more appalling is the fact that the 30-year-old had a ideal record of 5-0 against the sixth seeded Austrian Thiem before this match. "So it's going to be the toughest match you can imagine".
100 - Nadal's victory in five-set clay court matches.
He will be playing in his 10th semi-final in Paris and has made it having lost just 22 games through five matches.
Novak Djokovic effectively waved the white flag, bowing out of the French Open with a whimper on Wednesday.
"I have been on tour for many years and I know that each day there is a different match and there is a different opponent".
The Serb was on the ropes and was broken in the first game of the third set as Thiem edged closer to avenging his semi-final loss past year.
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