Fifth seed Rafael Nadal celebrated his 36th birthday Friday in the best way by reaching the 30th grand final of his career and 14th at the French Grand Slam, after his German opponent Alexander Zverev withdrew due to a severe injury at the end of the second set. .
Nadal won the first set with great difficulty 7-6 (10-8), then both players struggled to serve in the second set, which reached its twelfth game and tied 6-6, before Zverev suffered a strong injury to his right ankle, forcing him to leave the field in a chair. moving before the 25-year-old returned later on crutches to announce his withdrawal.
The Spaniard commented on the fact that Zverev, who has won three out of nine previous meetings between them, had to withdraw, saying, “It is very difficult and tough for him. He was playing a great tournament and he is a very good teammate in tournaments.”
“I know how much he is fighting to win the Grand Slam. Up until this point, he was unlucky. I am sure he will win, not just one, but much more. I wish him the best.”
It was likely that the match would be a marathon if Zverev had not suffered this injury, which ended his semi-final career for the second time in a row, especially as the players competed on the field fiercely for three hours and 13 minutes even before the second group reached its end.
“It was a very difficult match,” Nadal admitted. We played for over three hours and didn’t even finish the second set. He (Zverev) is the biggest challenge in the tournaments when he plays the way he did today.”
Now that the injury has prevented Zverev from trying to reach the second Grand Final of his career after Flushing Meadows 2020, Nadal will have the opportunity to enhance his legendary record at Roland Garros and win the title for the 14th time out of 14 appearances in the final and 18 appearances in total since his beginnings in 2005 when he won His first big title.
For Nadal, “Being in the Roland Garros final is a dream without a doubt, but at the same time I didn’t want things to end this way (Zverev’s injury)… I went to see Sasha… To see him cry like that, all that is All I can do is wish him the best.”
The King of Roland Garros
Despite reaching his thirty-sixth year and a chronic injury he suffered in the last two years in his foot, Nadal, who held the record for the number of major titles (21) after winning the Australian Open, confirmed that he is the undisputed “king” of Roland Garros.
During his 18 participation in the French championship, the Spaniard lost only three matches, in 2009 in the fourth round against Swede Robin Soderling and in 2015 and 2021 in the quarter- and semi-finals against Serbian Novak Djokovic, who was eliminated by the Spaniard in the current edition of the quarter-finals, while the son of Mallorca withdrew in 2016 before His match in the third round due to injury.
Nadal will meet either Croatian Marin Cilic or Norway’s Kasper Ruud in the eighth.