Paris: Fifth-seeded Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to his 14th French Open title as he entered the final after his semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev retired hurt in the semifinals with the score reading 7-6 (10-8) and 6 games all in the second set. Third seeded Zverev twisted his ankle while reaching for a ball and could not continue the match. He had to leave the court in a wheelchair with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Rafael Nadal was the first to express his regret at the turn of events. “I know what it feels like to be injured. I would never want anyone to get injured and that too during a match. I am sure Zverev will come out of this stronger. I know Sasha (Zverev’s nickname) is very keen to win a Grand Slam. With the amount of talent at his disposal, I am sure he not win just one Grand Slam, but many more in the future,” Nadal said in the courtside interview.
Nadal also praised Zverev for the high standard of tennis the Russian dished out. “You have to be at your very best when Zverev is in this kind of form,” Nadal said. “It was an intense match… Imagine we were yet to finish two sets even though the match was close to three hours. So yes, I had to be at my very best to play against Zverev.
It was a match that swung like a pendulum. In the first set with the Nadal leading 5-4, the Spaniard had four set points on the Zverev serve. Then in the tie-breaker, it was the turn of Zverev to close out the set as he led 6-2. However, Nadal saved all four points, two with unbelievable forehand winners and then finally went on to win the set 10-8 in the tie-breaker.
In the second set both broke each other’s serve once and the match seemed headed for another tie-breaker when Zverev turned his ankle while trying to reach a wide ball. He immediately screamed and fell and it did not look good then. As it turned out, it was the last point he had played.