Rafael Nadal

While Nadal ended Djokovic's bid for a 21st Grand Slam with a win in the quarters, Zverev avenged his loss Madrid Open final defeat as he defeated teen ...

- Swiatek is on a 34-match winning streak. Gauff hasn't dropped a set in her run to the final. A title win will also make him the oldest ever French Open champion. “I have seen a few matches live as it is not always possible because I was also in tournaments but when I watched this year’s Australian Open final, oh my God, it was just overwhelming really. Both have a good win percentage on their first serve, but Nadal leads the chart on second serve with 62.2 per cent win behind it as against Zverev's 41. Nadal threatened twice, but Zverev fended off the threat with a big forehand crosscourt return. Zverev then went wider towards Nadal's forehand on his serve to gain a 3-1 lead in the opening set Nadal draws Zverev forward with the drop shot and Zverev puts the return long. The serve and serve-plus-one tactic working perfectly for Zverev today, as it has been throughout the tournament. Zverev pushing Nadal to his backhand and then pushing the winner towards the forehand zone. A 6th double fault to start for Zverev. Opportunity for Nadal with the forehand but it hits the net cord. Nadal unable to adjust and he concedes the first point and then does another after his first double fault for the night.

Rafael Nadal will face another hurdle in the pursuit of his 14th French Open title with German talent Alexander Zverev his opponent in Friday's semi-final.

Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7) 7-6(11) 7-5 6-3 Bernabe Zapata-Miralles (Spain) 7-6(2) 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4)

RAFAEL NADAL and Alexander Zverev are playing their semi-final under the roof.

Nadal's sawdust trick clearly worked, as he saved four set points in the tiebreak afterwards and came from 2-6 down to clinch it 10-8. It came after a conversation with the umpire, in which Nadal said he was "trying" to go faster in between points while needing to wipe his hands after every point. But he managed to get revenge over the world No 1 for beating him in last year's semi-final, as he defeated the reigning champion 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(6) to advance to the last-four.

Rafael Nadal, 13-time champion at Roland-Garros, is celebrating his birthday today, and the ace tennis player who turns 36-year-old today is two victories ...

Rafa is up against Alexander Zverev in the French Open semis. He broke Jimmy Connors' record in the process and is set to further extend it. In fact, he lost at the French Open only 3 times.

Rafael Nadal was struggling for much of the opening set of his huge French Open semi-final clash with Alexander Zverev but came up with some magic.

"I think he has the perfect game to play against Rafa. Can he beat him? "It is absolutely huge. He can’t blame himself for that [not winning the point].”

RAFAEL NADAL is edging closer and closer to an historic 14th French Open title.The Spaniard came through a gruelling four-set quarter-final as he beat.

All the best to him and his team.”Rafael Nadal Rafa Nadal 7-6 1-1 *Alex Zverev Rafa Nadal 7-6 2-2 *Alex Zverev He is holding his right ankle. I didn't say a bad word. I didn't say that bad word. Rafa Nadal 7-6 3-5 *Alex Zverev He is having a medical timeout. He is so much pain. Surely he cannot continue. To see him crying is a very tough moment. At the same time, to finish that way, I have been there in the small room with him.

The 13-time French Open champion Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, becomes the oldest player to make the final at Roland Garros.

Nadal, who owns the men's Grand Slam record at 21 wins, has never lost in a French Open final. Rafael Nadal advanced to the 2022 French Open final on Friday after his semifinal opponent, Alexander Zverev, retired from the match with an injury late into a tightly-contested second set. The match lasted over three hours to that point.

Rafael Nadal has advanced to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev fell during a point, injured his right ankle and stopped playing.

Nadal saved Zverev's fourth set point with the help of a drop shot. His racket flew out of his hand and landed behind him after one wild swing mistakenly sent a ball zipping past the chair umpire until it landed 10 feet wide of the court. Zverev then was taken off the court in a wheelchair. Several minutes later, he came back out using crutches and said he needed to retire from the match. When Zverev did try a drop shot in the match's eighth game, it was merely so-so, and Nadal not only reached it but ripped a down-the-line backhand passing winner. Playing on his 36th birthday at an event he first won at 19, Nadal emerged to claim a tight-as-can-be, draining first set that lasted 1½ hours by a 7-6 (8) score.

Rafael Nadal is through to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev suffered an ankle injury and was forced to withdraw from their semi-final match.

Zverev went a mini break down before regrouping and getting Nadal on the run. Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android "He was having an unbelievable tournament and he's a very good colleague on the Tour.

Nadal had claimed the 91-minute opening set in an epic tiebreaker, 10-8, and had clawed back from a deficit in the second set, with another tiebreaker ...

After a few minutes’ pause, Zverev returned to the court on crutches, Nadal beside him. “Very tough,” Nadal told his interviewer, seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, reporting for Eurosport. “Very sad for him, honestly. He was playing unbelievable tournament.

Rafael Nadal will play for his 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam crown after Alexander Zverev suffered a horrific right ankle injury during the ...

So all the best to him and all the team.” Soon a wheelchair was brought out and Zverev was taken off the court. He later came out on crutches and embraced Nadal, as the Spaniard patted his face in encouragement.

Rafael Nadal has reached the final of the French Open after opponent Alexander Zverev was forced to retire injured.

He continued: “Difficult to say a lot of things today in this situation. Despite reaching the final, Nadal will not be satisfied with his game after keeping himself ahead solely on his endless fighting spirit and clutch play. After a short time, and as Nadal also went off court, Zverev returned to the court on crutches and saluted the crowd while his retirement was confirmed. By 5-4 to Zverev, eight of the first nine games of set two had been service breaks. For much of the first set, Zverev was on fire. After Zverev badly missed an easy volley at 3-6, Nadal pulled off an outrageous angled forehand passing shot winner on the following point.

Alexander Zverev has been forced to retire from his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal after the German rolled his ankle and had to leave the court ...

“He was playing [an] unbelievable tournament and he’s a very good colleague on the tour. With the match heading for a tie-break after three pulsating hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Zverev went over his right ankle and was left screaming in agony after what looked to be a horrendous injury. Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

Rafael Nadal is into the French Open final after semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev retired from their semifinal with an injury.

“To be in the final of Roland Garros one more time,” Nadal said, “it’s a dream without a doubt.” Zverev rolled the ankle on game point for Nadal to force a tiebreak after Nadal won the first set 7-6 (8). The match was more than three hours old when Zverev screamed in pain and was taken off the court in a wheelchair. Rafael Nadal advanced to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev retired from their semifinal match with a right ankle injury in the second set.

The German third seed fell at the end of the second set and left the court in a wheelchair.

In fact had the wall not been there to stop him Nadal would probably have stood in the crepe stand outside. But at 6-5 in the second and with Nadal about to take the match into a second tie-beak, Zverev’s footing gave way and the match was over. Zverev was helped to his feet but taken off the court in a wheelchair for treatment.

Rafael Nadal has taken an early lead in his Roland Garros semi-final clash against Alexander Zverev Friday, winning the first set 7-6(8) as he looks to ...

The injury brought an early end to a match that was on course for being one of the best of the season. 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. Of course for me, as everyone knows, to be in the final of Roland Garros for another time is a dream, without a doubt. 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 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. 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.

Rafael Nadal admitted the shine had been taken off reaching another French Open final by the horrific injury suffered by opponent Alexander Zverev.

Nadal, who had won the first set on a tie-break and had just levelled at 6-6 in the second, said: “Of course it’s not easy to talk after what happened. If you are human, you should feel very sorry for a colleague. “We are colleagues, we have been practicing together a lot of times. “It had been a very, very tough match. I think he started the match playing amazing. And to see a colleague like this, even if for me it’s a dream be in the final of Roland Garros, of course that way is not the way that we want it to be.

The 36-year-old 21-time Grand Slam champion reached his 14th French Open final after Alexander Zverev suffered a horrific right ankle injury during their ...

Still, he plans to take some time off. “In that sense it’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war.” Zverev, the world No. 3, left the court Friday in a wheelchair and returned on crutches, meaning his status for Wimbledon is also in the air.

Rafael Nadal advanced to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev injured an ankle and conceded. Nadal will play Casper Ruud for the title.

A trainer came out to attend to him, and Nadal walked around the net to check on Zverev too. The second set also was headed to a tiebreaker after another 1½ hours when Zverev tumbled behind the baseline and lost a point that allowed Nadal to hold serve for 6-all. “That’s why I was not able to create the damage that I wanted.” Later, an errant backhand let Nadal break for the first time, making it 4-all and sending red-and-yellow Spanish flags flapping in the stands. So I wish him all the best and a very fast recovery.” The oldest champion so far was Andres Gimeno, who was 34 in 1972. He probably had no business getting to Zverev’s sharp volley, let alone fashioning that short of a response. Zverev crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony and clutching at his lower leg. His black outfit, arms and legs caked with rust-colored clay, Zverev was helped up by a trainer, then taken away from the court in a wheelchair. “He’s a perfect example of how you should behave on court: Never give up and never complain. The sudden end to a contest that was three hours old but not even through two full sets allowed Nadal to become, on his 36th birthday, the second-oldest men’s finalist in French Open history. “Even if for me it’s a dream to be in the final of Roland Garros, of course that way is not the way that we want it to be.

The world number three's participation at Wimbledon this month is in major doubt following the incident in Paris.

The score was 7-6 (8) 6-6 in Nadal’s favour when Zverev left the court after falling awkwardly on the baseline, sending the Spaniard – 13 times a winner in Paris – through to his 14th Roland Garros final where he will meet Norway’s Casper Ruud. In a video message on Twitter, the 25-year-old German said: “A very difficult moment for me today on the court. Zverev left the court in a wheelchair and returned on crutches to confirm to the umpire that he could not continue.

Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud will go head-to-head on Sunday in the men's singles final at Roland-Garros.

6-7 (8) 7-6 (4) 6-2 7-6 (0) 6-1 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-3 Holger Rune (Denmark) 6-2 6-7 (7) 1-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(8) 6-6 (walkover) 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4)

With a win in Sunday's French Open final, Rafael Nadal will claim his 22nd Grand Slam singles title. Here's a look at some of the other significant numbers ...

21: The number of Grand Slam singles titles Nadal has won entering Sunday’s final, putting him one ahead of Roger Federer and Djokovic for the men’s record. 24: The number of matches Nadal has won over Federer in his career, against 16 losses. 209: The number of weeks Nadal has spent as the ATP Tour’s top-ranked singles player, the sixth-best figure ever. 0: The number of times Nadal has lost in a French Open final. 7: The number of events Nadal has played in 2022, already matching his totals from 2020 and 2021. 13: Nadal’s number of singles titles at the French Open heading into Sunday, a men’s record for an individual Grand Slam tournament. Combined with his prize money, that made him the world’s fifth-highest-paid tennis player last year. 8: The number of times Nadal has played on his birthday at Roland Garros, including Friday, when he turned 36. $1.05 million: The retail price for Nadal’s signature watch with Richard Mille when it was first introduced in 2020. $23 million: Nadal’s annual earnings off the court from endorsements, appearances, memorabilia and licensing fees, according to Forbes estimates. That makes Nadal the heavy favorite. It might have been a surprise, then, that it was his opponent—third-seeded Alexander Zverev—who retired from the match with an injury, and that Nadal emerged with a victory.

The 23-year-old Norwegian has never faced Nadal, 36, in a competitive match but the pair played plenty of times at the Rafael Nadal Academy.

“For me, Casper is one of the candidates for winning in every clay-court event that he’s playing. He’s one of the clear favourites. I’m playing for my first.” He’s playing for his 22nd. “There’s been some close sets, 7-6, 7-5, but it always goes his favour. “I probably watched all of them,” added Ruud. “I think I could probably tell you all the finals and who he has played and who he has beaten, because I watched them all on TV.

Injury-ravaged Spaniard has fought hard to reach final at Roland Garros and will be a tough foe for Norway's Casper Ruud.

In recent years, as men’s tennis has looked for players to follow Nadal and his rivals, many of Ruud’s peers have received so much more hype than him. Nadal’s fighting spirit, his composure under pressure and his ability to elevate his level in tight situations have been the bedrock of his game but it is astonishing he is able to achieve this time and time again. He will not only have to emotionally adapt to playing in a grand slam final for the first time but to also staring down the legend across the net. Not for Nadal. Here he is chasing a record-extending 22nd grand slam title, another significant moment in tennis history. In his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, the stakes were so high that every second of the match was important. In his fourth-round match against Felix Auger Aliassime he did not look like himself as they went to a tense fifth set.