Nadal Advances To Roland Garros Final After Zverev Retires

Rafael Nadal advanced to his 14th Roland Garros final Friday in dramatic circumstances when a serious ankle injury to Alexander Zverev halted their epic battle on the eve of a second-set tie-break, in a match that had already lasted more than three hours.

Under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier, one of the matches of the season was cut short at 7-6(8), 6-6, when the German had to leave the court in a wheelchair after he badly rolled his right ankle when moving to his right when tracking down a Nadal forehand deep behind the baseline.

Zverev cried in pain following the fall and had to be assisted into a wheelchair by the physio and Nadal, who quickly made his way round the net to help support the 25-year-old. Cleary in agony, the World No. 3 returned to court on crutches several minutes later to shake the hand of the umpire. He received a standing ovation from fans and a hug from Nadal, who is now one win away from capturing a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam trophy.

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“Very tough and very sad for him,” Nadal said on-court after the match. “Honestly, he was playing an unbelievable tournament. He’s a very good colleague on the Tour. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam, but for the moment he was very unlucky. The only thing I’m sure is that he is going to win not one — more than one. I wish him all the best and very fast recovery.”

Zverev had been playing bold, brilliant tennis. He held four set points in a dramatic first-set tie-break before Nadal produced a jaw-dropping combination of offense and defense to claim the opener. The intensity did not drop in a pulsating second set that reached another tie-break before a match that promised to become the best of the year was cruelly truncated.

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The injury has robbed Zverev of his chance of rising to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by winning his first major.

“It has been a super tough match, over three hours and we didn’t even finish the second set. It’s one of the biggest challenges on the Tour today when he’s playing at this super-high level, to play against him,” Nadal added. “Difficult to say a lot of things today, the situation. Of course for me, as everyone knows, to be in the final of Roland Garros for another time is a dream, without a doubt.

“But at same time, to finish that way… I have been there in the small room with Sascha before we came back on court, and to see him crying there is a very tough moment, so all the best to him.”

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In a three-hour, 13-minute physical clash, both players looked to dictate with their heavy-hitting as they pulled each other around in front of a vocal crowd.

The Spaniard, who is celebrating his 36th birthday, rallied from a break down in the first set as he overcame an early attacking bombardment from Zverev by hanging in points and finding greater depth and weight on his groundstrokes. Nadal then saved four set points in the tie-break, battling back from 2/6 to clinch a mammoth first set after one hour and 31 minutes.

The 91-time tour-level titlist then showcased his fighting qualities in the second set, rallying from 3-5 in the second set to force what would have been another tie-break. Devastatingly for the German though, he could not continue after suffering an injury to his ankle in the last point of the 11th game of the second set. The injury brought an early end to a match that was on course for being one of the best of the season.

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The fifth seed is aiming to capture his 14th Roland Garros crown and record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title this weekend at the clay-court major. If Nadal overcomes Casper Ruud or Marin Cilic in final on Sunday, he will eclipse countryman Andres Gimeno and become the oldest champion in tournament history.

The World No. 5 defeated long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a Roland Garros 4-hour, 10-minute thriller to improve to 29-30 in their ATP Head2Head series and set the 10th meeting with Zverev.

Zverev, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals last season, was looking to become the second German man to reach the Roland Garros final in the Open Era, joining 1996 runner-up Michael Stich.

Last month, Zverev advanced to the championship match in Madrid, before he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals in Rome. The German also reached the last four on clay in Monte Carlo in April. Meanwhile, Nadal is 29-3 on the season, having captured crowns at the Australian Open, Melbourne Summer Set and Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The 91-time tour-level titlist, who holds a 111-3 record at Roland Garros, has never won the Aussie Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season.

Did You Know?
The last retirement in a Grand Slam semi-final or final came at the 2018 US Open, when Nadal retired against Juan Martin del Potro after the second set, with the Argentine leading their semi-final clash 7-6, 6-2. The last retirement at a Roland Garros semi-final or final came in 2006, when David Nalbandian retired against Roger Federer during their last four encounter. The Swiss star was winning 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 at the time.