Fast start 

The match had looked like it was on the verge of turning into another classic. Nadal was the hungrier of the two as he raced into a 3-0 lead in the opening set with two breaks of serve.

Djokovic immediately struck back to level but he allowed Nadal to edge ahead again with a double fault at break point in the seventh game.

The Spaniard did not turn down the gift and he finished the set three games later with a forehand across court.

Rafael Nadal of Spain walks past to Novak Djokovic of Serbia (top) during their men's singles final match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 10, 2012.[Photo/Agencies]

The second set began in a similar vein to the first with Djokovic losing his opening service game with a double fault on break point and then fighting back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 as the drizzle began to fall on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Serb tossed his racket down in anger in the fifth game before exhibiting extraordinary sportsmanship to gift Nadal a point following a late and incorrect line call when the rules called for it to be replayed.

Nadal then broke in the seventh game with a rasping forehand winner, which again brought the worst out in the frustrated Serb who, with a single swipe of his racket, smashed a hole in his courtside bench.

The second seed moved to within one game of the set when rain suspended play for 35 minutes and he was quick out of the blocks on the restart, breaking to take the second set with a scorching backhand winner on the run.

With the momentum firmly in his favour, Nadal broke early in the third, but typically of a match in which service games were hard to hold and breaks easy to come by, Djokovic levelled with some rugged defence that brought out errors in the Spaniard.

The Serb then began to scamper around the court with increased impetus, while Nadal moaned about the damp conditions underfoot.

The world number one was not complaining. He let out a trademark roar after breaking twice more before closing out the set, the first Nadal has dropped in the tournament.

The rain got worse and balls became dirty as they picked up damp clay from the court surface, and after consultation with the referee the players left the arena.

"When we stopped the match on the court, Rafa... didn't really want to play on, and Novak said that the court was too slippery to play on," tournament referee Stefan Fransson said.

The crowd slow clapped and pleaded for them to return and it was announced that they would, but not until Monday.