Novak Djokovic hit out at Roland Garros officials after his epic five-set defeat to Rafael Nadal on Friday, claiming that his demands for the Court Philippe Chatrier surface to be improved were ignored.

The world number one twice battled from a set and a break down to lead 4-2 in the fifth set before a succession of rows with chair umpire Pascal Maria and tournament supervisor Stefan Fransson threw his challenge off course.

Djokovic claimed that the court was too dry and slippery, making smooth movement across the surface too difficult, and he even summoned Fransson onto the court to vent his frustrations at the court not being watered.

“Off the court I was told that it’s the ground staff who make the final decision on watering. The supervisor said it was him who decides,” said Djokovic, after his 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 9-7 loss.

“The wind was blowing a lot of clay off the top and after every changeover in the final set I was asking how long are we going to play. The supervisor said he’d talk to the grounds people.

“I was not asking to water the court because I want to make my opponent trip or do something like that. I was doing it for myself, because I felt that it got very dry and it was very slippery.”

Djokovic also lost a point when he was a break up at 4-3 and deuce when he collided with the net as he put away a smash which would have put him a point away from being 5-3 ahead.

Adding to his frustrations was Maria giving him a warning for a time violation after he was adjudged to have taken too long to serve.

Nadal had earlier been penalised a point for the same offence.

“My argument was that the ball was already out of the court when I touched the net,” said Djokovic whose challenge was undermined by 75 unforced errors.

“Who knows what direction the match may have taken if I had won that point.”

Djokovic, who still needs a French Open title to complete the career Grand Slam, praised Nadal for battling back to reach an eighth Roland Garros final.

“I congratulate my opponent because he showed courage at the right moments and went for his shots even when he was a break down,” said Djokovic after his fifth loss to Nadal in Paris.

“He fought and showed why he is such a great champion.”