Rafael Nadal made it to his 14th French Open final on Friday, when Alexander Zverev had to quit their semi-final match because of a painful injury to his right ankle. It was a dramatic day at Roland Garros.
Nadal will face Casper Ruud in his 30th Grand Slam final on Sunday. Ruud is the first Norwegian man to make it to a Grand Slam final.
Nadal was winning 7-6 (10/8), 6-6, when Zverev had to quit. In the other semi-final, Ruud beat Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, but the match was delayed when an environmental protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.
Zverev hurt his ankle when he chased after the ball in front of the players’ boxes on Court Philippe Chatrier, where his shocked team and family were sitting.
As his piercing screams of pain echoed around the 15,000-seat court, a tearful Zverev was taken off the court in a wheelchair as a worried Nadal watched.
The 25-year-old came back on crutches a few minutes later and gave up the match. Nadal hugged his heartbroken opponent.
“If you are human, you feel bad for a co-worker,” Nadal said. He has won the French Open 13 times.
“This is very hard and sad for him. He did a great job at the tournament, and he’s a great teammate on the tour.
“I’ve seen how hard he works to win a Grand Slam. At the time, he was having a lot of bad luck. I’m sure he will win not just one, but many. I hope the best for him.”
– Tears –
He added: “Being in the final of Roland Garros is definitely a dream come true for me, but for it to end that way… I was in the small room with Sascha, and it broke my heart to see him crying like that.”
Zverev later said that he had “very seriously hurt” himself.
“On the court, it was a very hard time. It looks like a very bad injury, but the doctors are still looking into it. I’ll let you know what happens “he said.
“But Rafa should be proud of himself for making it to the final for the 14th time.
“I hope he makes more history and goes all the way.”
Up until the exciting end, Zverev had been giving Nadal a hard time.
In the first set, which took 91 minutes and was full of ups and downs, Zverev broke in the first game, but Nadal tied it up at 4-4.
Under the closed roof, the Spaniard was dripping with sweat. In the 10th game, he had three set points, but the German’s all-or-nothing shots kept him in the match.
On Friday, Nadal turned 36. Then, in a tiebreak that was very close, he saved four set points, one of them with a spectacular running crosscourt forehand.
On the sixth set point, he won the first game with a lightning-fast forehand pass.
Zverev was in the Roland Garros semi-finals for the second year in a row. He had 25 winners and 26 unforced errors.
There were eight breaks of serve in the second set. When Nadal broke for 2-1, he did so after a 44-shot rally that wore him out.
After 37-year-old Bill Tilden, who was the runner-up in 1930 at the age of 37, Nadal is the second oldest man to make it to the final in Paris.
With this win, Nadal, who beat world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, improved to 111 wins and only three losses at the French Open.
If he wins on Sunday, he will be the tournament’s oldest winner, beating his countryman Andres Gimeno, who won when he was 34 years old in 1972.
Nadal made it to the final, even though he had doubts about how long he would stay in the sport.
Because of an ongoing problem with his left foot, he has had to admit that any match could be the last of his record-breaking French Open career.
In the round of 16, he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets, which took him more than four hours. It took him another four hours to beat Djokovic in four sets.
Ruud was the first Norwegian man to get to the final of a Grand Slam tournament, and he called Nadal his “idol.”
World number eight Ruud beat 2014 US Open champion Cilic with 16 aces and 41 winners.
In the third set, however, a protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net by the neck. This was a scary security breach.
She wore a shirt with the words “We have 1028 days left” on it until security staff finally let her go. After a 15-minute break, the game started again.
“From my side, it was a great match. I didn’t get off to the best start, but Marin played a very good first set,” said Ruud, who is 23 years old.
“I respect Rafa. He shows everyone how to act on the court because he never gives up and never complains. He’s been my idol all my life.”
Ruud said that the protest was “a tough and tricky situation.”
“I could only see her back, so I couldn’t tell what she was holding or what was around her neck.”
