Spanish player Rafael Nadal has reached the final of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, after his German opponent Alexander Zverev withdrew due to injury during the semifinals on Friday. Nadal, the fifth seed, has reached the 30th Grand Slam final of his career and the 14th at the French Open. This came after Zverev, the third seed, suffered a severe ankle injury at the end of the second set.
Nadal, 36 years old, narrowly took the first set 7-6 (10-8), and both players struggled to hold serve in the second set, which reached a twelfth game with a score of 6-6, before Zverev suffered a serious injury to his right ankle, forcing him to leave the court in a wheelchair. He later returned on crutches to announce his withdrawal.
The match was expected to be prolonged had Zverev not sustained this injury, which ended his journey in the semifinals for the second consecutive time, especially as both players competed fiercely on the court for three hours and 13 minutes before the second set ended.
Now that injury has deprived Zverev of attempting to reach his second Grand Slam final after the 2020 U.S. Open, Nadal has the opportunity to strengthen his legendary record at the French Open and win the title for the 14th time.
Despite turning 36 and suffering from a chronic foot injury over the past two years, Nadal, who set the record for the most Grand Slam titles (21) earlier this year by winning the Australian Open, has asserted that he is the "King" of the French Open without contest. Nadal will face either Croatian Marin Cilic or Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final.
