Rafael Nadal is just one win away from a 22nd Grand Slam title. The Spaniard qualified for the Roland-Garros final on Friday after a match was cut short due to an injury to the right ankle of Alexander Zverev, who was forced to retire before the tiebreaker of the second set.
Nadal, a 13-time winner on Parisian clay since 2005, will play in his 14th final there on Sunday against Norwegian Casper Ruud (8th) or Croatian Marin Cilic (23rd), who are up against him in the second semi. -final.
Zverev retired while trailing 7-6 (10/8), 6-6 after an arm wrestle. He violently twisted his right ankle at the end of the race after his last strike and was evacuated from the court in a wheelchair, while crying, before returning with a crutch to formalize his abandonment.
Too hard, I was so sad for him. He was playing an incredible tournament, I know how much he fights to win a grand slam. He’s really unlucky, but I’m sure he’ll win in the future, and not one, but many more.said the winner.
Of course, dreams of being in the Roland-Garros final again. But at the same time, to end like this, to see him crying in the locker room, was a very difficult moment.He added.
Qualifies for the final on his 36th birthday, Rafa thus becoming the second finalist for age at the French Open after American Bill Tilden, 37 in 1930.
Prior to Zverev’s injury, the two players were playing a marathon game. After more than three hours of play, they have yet to complete the second set. Each of the two rounds lasted the time of a soccer match.
The Mallorcan left-hander pocketed the first in a very difficult match, after facing four consecutive set points in the decisive game (from 6-2 to 6-6).
The 25-year-old German had the best start against the entry break and led 4-2. But Nadal took over, then got three first set points in 5 games in 4. In vain. The Spaniard finished the job for his sixth time in the tiebreaker.
In the equally contested second set, almost every service game was broken, and Zverev failed to take advantage when he served 5-3 to tie it by a set all.
It was a very tough match, we had been playing for three hours and we hadn’t finished the second set yet, Nadal said. It’s one of the biggest challenges on the circuit today to face him when he’s playing at that level.
Source: Radio-Canada
