Rafael Nadal reached his 14th French Open final on Friday after Alexander Zverev was ruled out of the semi-finals with a right ankle injury. Zverev had to leave the court in a wheelchair after twisting his ankle as he chased the ball past the players’ box on the court Philippe Chatier, where his team and family were seated.
The German was trailing 7-6 (10/8), 6-6 after more than three hours of play at the time of the terrible injury.
As his screams of pain echoed around the 15,000-seat court, a tearful Zverev was helped from the court by doctors. Minutes later, the 25-year-old returned to crutches and Nadal accepted the match while embracing his heartbroken opponent.
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“It is very difficult and very sad for him. He was playing an incredible tournament and he is a very good ally on tour,” Nadal said.
“I know how much he struggles to win a Grand Slam. At the moment, he was very unlucky. I am sure he will win not one, but more than one. I wish him all the best.
“It was a super tough match. Over three hours and we didn’t even finish the second set. It is one of the biggest challenges on the tour when he is playing like he is today.”
He said: “For me, being in the final of Roland Garros is a dream, no doubt about it, but at the same time, to end it like this … I have been in the small room with Sasha and he Am to see. Crying like this – I wish them all the best.”
Nadal, chasing a record 22nd Grand Slam title, will take on either Marin Cilic or Casper Roode in Sunday’s final.
By the dramatic end of the match, Zverev was pushing Nadal all the way.
In a rollercoaster, in the first set of 91 minutes, Zverev broke through before Nadal’s 4-4 draw in the opening game.
The sweaty Spaniard saw three set points come and go in the 10th game under a closed roof on the court Philippe Chatrier, as the German’s all-or-nothing hit kept him in the match.
Nadal celebrated his 36th birthday on Friday, then saved four set points in a knife-edged tiebreak, one of them from a brilliant running crosscourt forehand.
A blazing forehand pass gave him the opener on the sixth set point.
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Playing in the semi-finals for the second year in a row at Roland Garros, Zverev made 25 winning sets and 26 unforced errors.
Eight breaks of serve were found in the second set. When Nadal broke 2-1, he did so on the back of an exhausting 44-shot rally.
Zverev also collected a warning for bad language as the set headed for another tiebreak.
However, this quickly became irrelevant when his attempt to reach a second Grand Slam final ended in such dramatic circumstances.
Nadal became the second oldest person to make the final in Paris after 37-year-old Bill Tilden, who had finished runner-up in 1930.
Nadal, who defeated world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, gives Nadal a record 111-3 win at the French Open.
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