Nadal reaches final, where history awaits
PARIS — Rafael Nadal was locked in a tight, compelling and lengthy French Open semifinal Friday when his opponent, third-seeded Alexander Zverev, ran to chase a shot and twisted his right ankle. 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. Minutes later, after Nadal saw him crying in a small room in the stadium, Zverev came back onto Court Philippe Chatrier on crutches, his right shoe removed, and conceded the match, unable to continue.
The sudden end to a match that was 3 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. He will try to become the oldest champion at a tournament he has won a record 13 times, facing firsttime Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud on Sunday.
The only older men’s finalist in Paris was Bill Tilden, the runner-up at 37 in 1930. The oldest champion was Andres Gimeno, who was 34 in 1972.
“Only thing that I can say is I hope he’s not too bad,” Nadal said of Zverev. “Hopefully, it’s just the normal thing when you turn your ankle, and hopefully, nothing (is broken). That’s what everybody hopes.
“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. … If you are human, you should feel very sorry for a colleague.”
With the pitter-patter of rain audible against the closed retractable roof at Court Philippe Chatrier, and many in the crowd of 15,000 repeatedly chanting “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” he emerged to claim a tight-ascan-be, draining first set by a 7-6 (8) score after 1½ hours. 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.
A trainer came out to attend to him, and Nadal walked around the net to check on Zverev, too. After Zverev returned to the court to say he would need to retire from the match, he shook the chair umpire’s hand and then hugged Nadal.
In addition to bidding for a 14th trophy from the French Open, Nadal can claim his 22nd Grand Slam title to add to the men’s record he already holds after his triumph at the Australian Open in January. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are tied at 20.
Ruud became the first man from Norway to reach a major final, eliminating 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in a match interrupted for more than 10 minutes in the third set by a climate activist who attached herself to the net and knelt on the court.
Ruud, 23, has not faced Nadal but trained at the King of Clay’s academy in Mallorca.
“He’s a perfect example of how you should behave on court: Never give up and never complain. He’s been my idol for all my life,” said Ruud, who his coached by his father, Christian, a pro player from 1991 through 2001.