The King of Clay and World number 5, Spain’s Rafael Nadal reached his 14th French Open Final on Friday but not in the way he would have wanted to.
Nadal was up against World number 3, Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. Nadal won the first set in a hard-hitting tie break and was trailing 5-6 (40-30) on his serve in the second set. During that point, Zverev twisted his leg really badly and sustained an injury. Zverev couldn’t continue after this, and he had to retire. Nadal won the match 7-6, 6-6.
The match could have easily been one of the best of the Open era with both men going back and forth and playing exceptional tennis. The match had already gone on for 3 hours and 3 minutes and we were still on the second set.
After the match, Zverev came out in clutches to thank the fans for their support. Nadal in the post-match interview claimed that Zverev will deservingly win many Grand Slams in his career.
On Sunday, now Nadal will play for his 22nd Grand Slam title, either against Cilic or Ruud. Nadal would be the favourite going into the final.
Nadal has already won the Australian Open this year and would be looking to win 2 grand slams in a row for the first time since 2013.
