Nadal overcomes Schwartzman to march into semis Halep, Stephens to vie for title
sorts in damp conditions on Wednesday as Schwartzman bombarded him with winners to cause him all sorts of problems, with the Argentine leading by a set and a break when the players were first called off court due to rain.
Upon resumption, the Spaniard gradually improved before rain brought an early end to the day with Nadal on the brink of winning the second set.
It was a very different story when the contest resumed on Thursday in drier conditions as Nadal won 12 of the first 13 points before cruising into the last four.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion will face another Argentine, fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, for a place in Sunday’s final.
“It was a very difficult match against a very good friend and a very good player. I think that after the rain interruption I played much better, I was more aggressive,” said Nadal.
Despite entering the contest with a stupendous 83-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros, Nadal is known to suffer jitters early and Schwartzman capitalized on those nerves to break for a 2-1 lead in the opening set.
Nadal broke straight back by raising his own level.
But as the Spaniard struggled to win points on his first serve, he was broken again for 5-4 and Schwartzman served for the set.
He fired long on a first set point, Na dal saved the second with a jaw-dropping drop shot but on the third, just after the match was interrupted for a few minutes while an unwell spectator was evacuated, Schwartzman unleashed a stunning forehand winner down the line – his 20th winner.
Nadal, who had won 37 completed sets at Roland Garros before losing the first on Wednesday, was back to his old merciless self on Thursday as he belted 26 winners in the last two sets – compared to the eight he had produced during the opening two.
He got nervous again, however, in the last game, needing four match points to secure victory.
On the women’s side, top seed Simona Halep reached her third French Open final when she stopped hard-hitting Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in her tracks with a 6-1, 6-4 semifinal victory.
Now the 26-year-old Romanian will bid to go a step further than she has ever gone before by beating American Sloane Stephens in Saturday’s title match.
Muguruza, the 2016 champion, set about attacking Halep from the off but whereas all her previous opponents this fortnight has withered under the onslaught, battle-hardened Halep barely took a backward step.
Hurling everything Muguruza fired her way back across the net with equal venom Halep made a lightning start and was 5-0 up despite her opponent not playing badly herself.
The tall Muguruza had not dropped a set before facing Halep and thrashed two Grand Slam champions in Sam Stosur and Maria Sharapova for the loss of five games en route to the last four.
Muguruza ratcheted up the intensity in the second set and broke in the third game when a powerful return forced an error.
Halep weathered the storm and broke back for 4-4 before winning a marathon ninth game in which she saved three break points to pile the pressure on the third seed.
Halep seized her chance, moving 0-40 ahead and then raising her arms in triumph as Muguruza blazed a backhand long – her 31st unforced error of the match.
Earlier this year she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in a sweat-box Australian Open final.
Stephens, ranked and seeded 10th, defeated 13th-seeded Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 in 75 minutes in an all-American semifinal.
Halep has beaten Stephens five times in seven meetings, including the last four and both times on clay. (Reuters) On TV: French Open late-round action (live on Eurosport from 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday)