French Open: Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud into men’s final on day of injury and protest drama
- Alexander Zverev suffers sickening ankle injury in semi-final against Nadal with match tightly poised at 7-6, 6-6
- Nadal becomes the second oldest man to make the final in Paris after 37-year-old Bill Tilden who was runner-up in 1930
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Rafael Nadal has reached his 14th French Open final after Alexander Zverev was forced to quit their last-four clash after suffering a sickening right ankle injury on a day of drama at Roland Garros.
On Sunday, Nadal will play in his 30th grand slam final when he tackles Casper Ruud, the first Norwegian man to make a championship match at the majors.
Nadal was 7-6, 6-6 ahead when Zverev was forced to quit, while Ruud saw off Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in his semi-final which was held up when an environmental protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.
Zverev turned his ankle as he chased down the ball in front of the players’ boxes on Court Philippe Chatrier where his shocked team and family were sitting.
As his piercing screams of pain echoed around the 15,000-seater court, a tearful Zverev was taken off the court in a wheelchair as a concerned Nadal looked on.
Minutes later, the 25-year-old returned on crutches and conceded the match, with Nadal embracing his heartbroken opponent.
“If you are human, you feel sorry for a colleague,” said 13-time French Open champion Nadal. “It’s very tough and very sad for him. He was playing an unbelievable tournament and he’s a very good colleague on the tour.
“I know how much he’s fighting to win a grand slam. For the moment, he was very unlucky. I’m sure he’ll win not one, but much more than one. I wish him all the best.”
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Zverev later said he had “suffered a very serious injury”.
“It was a very difficult moment on the court. It looks like a very serious injury but the medical team are still checking it and I will keep you updated,” he said.
“But congratulations to Rafa, it’s an amazing achievement to be in the final for the 14th time. I hope he goes all the way and makes more history.”
Until the dramatic end of the match, Zverev had been pushing Nadal all the way.
In a roller coaster, 91-minute first set, Zverev broke in the opening game before Nadal levelled at 4-4.
The Spaniard, dripping with sweat under the closed roof, saw three set points come and go in the 10th game as the German’s all-or-nothing hitting kept him in the match.
Nadal, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Friday, then saved four set points in a knife-edge tiebreak, one of them off a spectacular running cross-court forehand.
A blistering forehand pass gave him the opener on a sixth set point.
Zverev, playing in the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the second successive year, hit 25 winners and 26 unforced errors.
The second set was punctuated by eight breaks of serve. When Nadal broke for 2-1, he did so on the back of an exhausting 44-shot rally.
Nadal becomes the second oldest man to make the final in Paris after 37-year-old Bill Tilden who was runner-up in 1930.
Victory saw Nadal, who knocked out world No 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, take his record at the French Open to 111 wins and just three losses.
If he wins on Sunday, he would be the tournament’s oldest champion, eclipsing 34-year-old compatriot Andres Gimeno who took the title in 1972.
Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Slam final and hailed Nadal as his “idol”.
World number eight Ruud fired 16 aces and 41 winners past 2014 US Open champion Cilic.
However, there was a worrying security breach in the third set when a female protester ran onto the court and tied herself by the neck to the net.
She wore a shirt which bore the slogan: “We have 1028 days left” before being eventually cut free by security staff. The match resumed after a 15-minute delay.
