3.6. 19:38 • Updated June 3rd. 20:08
First semi-finals of the French Open Rafael Nadalin and Alexander Zverevin there was a really hard and tenacious battle between. The match was played for over three hours, but it still ended badly prematurely.
Third-placed German Zverev played strongly. He led the opening round with a break. Nadal rose to the levels and a batch solution was sought from the playoffs. Zverev had four bouncing balls in it, but Nadal showed how hard it is to beat him on Roland Garros ’mass fields. The Spaniard rose to a 10-8 tiebreak win and took a one-and-a-half-hour opening round of 7-6.
The second installment saw several feed-in breaks and that, too, ended up in the cut-off game as well. However, the match ended dramatically as Zverev’s ankle spun visibly. The German was taken out of the field in a wheelchair. After a moment, he returned with his crutches to shake hands with Nadal. The second round was still in progress at the time of the handover, but the match had been played for more than three hours.
– This is very sad for him. He played an incredible tournament. I know how much he fights to win the Grand Slam. I’m sure he’ll win not just one but much more, Nadal said.
Zverev has not won any Grand Slam tournaments yet. At the US Open in 2020, he played in the finals Dominic Thiem against and won the first two sets but lost the match. Now Zverev played a very strong tournament. He won the rising superstar Carlos Alcarazin and also seriously challenged Nadal before his injury.
Nadal, who turns 36 today, is aiming for his incomprehensible 14th championship in the French Open and 22 Grand Slam tournament wins on Sunday. He will face a Norwegian in the final Casper Ruudin or Croatian Marin Cilicin.