If you’re just joining us, here’s the report on Nadal v Zverev and its dramatic, unexpected and unfortunate conclusion.
Here’s a Sportblog piece from Caira Conner looking at Coco Gauff, the youngest American grand slam finalist since Serena Williams.
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So, who will Rafa Nadal play in the final? We’ll know later this evening after the second semi-final between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic. Ruud is the favourite to triumph but Cilic, now 33, has had a dream run to the last four. If Cilic goes through, the men’s singles final will be contested by two players with a combined age of 69! Rafa turned 36 today.
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Mats Wilander, on Eurosport, believes Zverev would have won had it gone to a fifth set. That’s some claim, especially when you consider this stat. Brace yourselves... on clay, Nadal has contested 138 fifth sets and won 135 of them! Crikey.
Update: Sina Najafi writes: “Since 2007, the French Open has been the only clay tournament in the world that is best of 5 sets. Nadal has played 3 matches at Roland Garros that went to 5 sets. So for your number to be true, we’d have to find 135 additional matches on clay that went to 5 sets between when Nadal appeared on the professional circuit (2003) and 2006 (the last year the three Masters clay court tournaments went to five sets). Nadal played in 6 clay Masters tournaments (with 5 or 6 matches to be played in each, based in your seeding) before they switched format, so even if every single match he played in those tournaments went to five sets, you could not get to that number. I know of 4 clay matches of his (inc the Roland Garros 3) that have gone to 5 sets, the 4th being his win over Federer in the Italian Open in 2006. Maybe there are a couple more in the early round of those 6 tournaments that I don’t know about, but 138 is way off.”
I think it’s fair to say Sina has exposed that stat as nonsense! One that is correct though: Rafa has now played 114 matches at Roland Garros and won 111 of them!
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Meanwhile, good news for Andy Murray after he booked his place in the semi-finals at Surbiton.
The bottom line after all the drama is that Rafa Nadal is into his 30th Grand Slam final. He’ll now have a shot at winning the French Open for an incredible 14th time. It’ll surely help, given his chronic foot problem, that he’s ‘only’ had to play three hours here when, to be honest, this match was heading long into the evening.
Rafa Nadal has words for his stricken opponent. “Very tough. Very sad for him, honestly. He was playing an unbelievable tournament. To see him crying there is a very tough moment. All the best to him.”
Nadal into the final after Zverev withdraws with injury
And that’s it folks. Zverev comes back onto the court on crutches, waves to the crowd (with each crutch) and goes off. Some unsympathetic voices suggesting his yelping was all a bit too much!
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A reminder that the second set was about to go into a tie-break before Zverev crashed to the floor when hitting a forehand that went out and tied the set up at 6-6.
Tim Henman in the Eurosport studio believes that Zverev won’t be coming back and that he’s rolled his ankle. TV replays show how he goes over on it. He was very distressed in the aftermath.
Zverev injured at end of second set
Zverev is on his feet but it doesn’t look good at all. He’s up but still looks distressed. Covered in clay, he’s helped into a wheelchair. Is this the end of the match? He’s led away for treatment while Rafa asks what he’s allowed to do now. It was Zverev’s ankle that gave way. We await further news.
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Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 6-6 Zverev (* denotes server). Nadal’s powerful forehand forces Zverev to find the net with the opening point but the Spaniard then whips one just wide of the line as his hopes of 30-0 become 15-15. Zverev goes long with a straightforward forehand as the match clock ticks over to three hours and then the German goes wide with a backhand to give Nadal a 40-15 advantage. Zverev stays alive as he lunges to force Nadal into a volley which sits up and allows him to hit another winner and then, oh my word, he sends a passing shot wide and is yelping with pain after going over on his ankle. This could be serious.
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Second set: Nadal 7-6, 5-6 Zverev* (* denotes server). Nadal is ridiculous! He wins the opening point and then somehow stays alive in the next rally before whipping an angled volley which Zverev can’t get to. What a shot! But Zverev digs deep and volleys his way back to 15-30 and then smashes an overhead to level things up after another exhausting exchange. And then, a clenched first from Zverev. He’s out of position but flashes a backhand that catches the line and it gives him game point. A booming serve seals a 6-5 lead.
Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 5-5 Zverev (* denotes server). Zverev thumps a forehand winner to show perhaps that he’s quickly put all that double fault calamity behind him. Talking of which, Rafa then double faults (his first) to go 0-30 down. Nadal taps home a volley and then watches Zverev put far too much juice into a forehand that goes way long. 30-30. Nadal’s drop shot on the next point isn’t cute enough but he floats up a lob which Zverev blasts out and then wins a slugging rally with a simple volley to hold for the first time in this set. Rafa raises his hands to the skies. That felt big.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 4-5 Zverev* (* denotes server). A double fault from Zverev to start this vital game sparks an argument. He lets out a yelp and the umpire believes that’s a rude word (in Russian). Zverev insists it isn’t and claims the warning is unjust. He’ll have to settle himself down here and does so by winning the next two points but then... another double fault. No verbal naughtiness this time although he must be fuming inside. Nadal senses it’s time to test his rival’s mettle and a Zverev error gives the Spaniard break point. And then, you’re kidding me, another double fault! My oh my! That’s a disaster for the German. Nadal still alive in this set and he may not let Zverev off the hook after that reprieve.
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Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 3-5 Zverev (* denotes server). Zverev takes the opening point as Nadal scuttles to his left and can only find the net. A flashing Nadal backhand across court restores parity before Zverev goes long to give the 13-time winner the edge at 30-15. Nadal needs some brief repair work on his racket and looks in control of the next point before a heavy-handed volley allows Zverev to pass him. Then Nadal’s leaping volley is looped back by Zverev before, a rarity, the Spaniard misses with an overhead and then drives a forehand into the net to drop his serve yet again. Zverev will now be serving for the set.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 3-4 Zverev* (* denotes server). Zverev wins the opening point of game seven before Nadal wins an ‘oohs and aahs’ battle conducted around the net to make it 15-15. Zverev moves 30-15 in front but hits a sloppy forehand long. 30-30. Nadal then shows wonderful craft with a mix of lobs and drop volleys to earn another break point and, unsettled, Zverev double faults to gift Rafa the game. The breaks keep on coming and Nadal is right back in the set.
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Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 2-4 Zverev (* denotes server). Nadal forces Zverev wide with the opening point of the sixth game and puts away a waist-high volley with conviction. Another volley, this time low and angled across court, takes Nadal to 30-0. A delicious drop volley shows off Rafa’s repertoire but either side of that two unforced errors keep Zverev in the game. Nadal’s mixed bag continues with a shoulder-high volley into the net and we have deuce. Zverev senses a weakness and pulls Nadal around to get break point but the crowd are off their seats as the Spaniard blasts a thunderous forehand winner to save it. Zverev goes on the attack again to overpower Nadal with two thumping drives and then sets up a forehand winner to break his opponent for the third straight time. 4-2 Zverev. We have a game on!
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Second set: Nadal 7-6, 2-3 Zverev* (* denotes server). Is the pendulum moving now? Zverev sends down his fifth ace of the match and goes 30-0 in front before gifting a point the other way. Nadal then forces an error on the Zverev backhand to get it back to 30-all before the German thumps a forehand long. Break point. Again. What is happening in this set? Zverev nails a backhand cross-court winner to force deuce. It goes deuce again after Zverev’s passing attempt loops up off the net but he’s quick off the mark to get to a Nadal drop shot and hits his 30th winner of the match to gain advantage. Nadal stays alive before Zverev booms down an ace and then a fantastic cross-court backhand is too fruity for Nadal who whips long. Finally, a hold of serve and Zverev leads in the second set for the for first time.
Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 2-2 Zverev (* denotes server). Zverev is getting 82% of his first serves in and yet still continues to be broken. Can he trade breaks for a second time? Nadal wins the opening point but loops a slightly-mishit forehand long and then punches wide with a backhand to go 15-30 down. A little careless. He composes himself with a tap of the shoes and umpteen bounces but then hits another groundstroke wide to give Zverev two break points. And he completes a four-timer of errors with a whipped forehand going way out. A terrible game from Nadal and Zverev does indeed break back again.
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Second set: Nadal 7-6, 2-1 Zverev* (* denotes server). Nadal makes it six straight points on the Zverev serve at the start of this second set to move to 0-30 before the German gratefully watches a thumping Nadal drive go long. Zverev then hits a thunderous forehand right to the very corner of the court for 30-all. That was high tariff. Zverev chops a backhand just wide to give Nadal a break point but holds his nerve. However, Zverev’s unconvincing volley at the net with his body position all wrong gives the Spaniard another break point. Then follows an extraordinary rally with both men giving everything but Nadal comes up smelling of roses again as his drop shot is thumped wide by Zverev. Three games in the second set and three breaks of serve!
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Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 1-1 Zverev (* denotes server). Nadal quickly goes to 30-0, making Zverev stretch and hit long before the German tries a rare dropped shot and it pays off as a scampering Nadal can’t get there in time. Encouraging to see him mix it up a little. Nadal, who is taking the absolute maximum allowed time between points, moves to 40-15 by finding an incredible angle that Zverev can’t solve and is just wide with a first serve that would have given him the game. But Zverev stays alive to force deuce and then wins a break point as a Nadal forehand loops off the net and out. And after some thrilling rapid-fire volleying at the net on the next point, Zverev takes it. An immediate break back.
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Second set: Nadal 7-6, 1-0 Zverev* (* denotes server). After a six-minute break for Rafa to change his drenched outfit, they’re away again and Nadal wins the first two points on the Zverev serve with dropped shots, a tactic he’s turning to with more frequency now. Zverev goes wide with a backhand to give Nadal three break points and the Spaniard takes the first as Zverev overhits. A break to love. We didn’t see that in the first set.
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Some stats. Zverev hit 25 winners to Nadal’s 11 in that epic opening set but also had 26 unforced errors to Rafa’s 11. Those four double faults from Zverev didn’t help either. Nadal didn’t have any.
Thanks Tom! Blimey. What a set that was. Just 92 minutes! Zverev did an awful lot right but somehow he loses it. That’s Nadal at Roland Garros I guess.
And after all that, I’ll hand you over to David Tindall.
Nadal wins first set tiebreak 10-8
First set: Nadal 7-6 Zverev (* denotes server). An unpredictable fluctuating set gets the tiebreak to match. Zverev hits long on Rafa’s serve to get the tiebreak under way. Zverev responds with a ferocious angled serve, but he hits long again to give Nadal the first mini-break. He squanders it straight away with a limp forehand into the net for 2-2, and Zverev’s fine return forces a volleyed error from Nadal to put the German a minibreak up. A testing rally then goes Zverev’s way to and they change ends with him 4-2 up.
Zverev extends his lead with an angled winner after dictating the rally and he has four set points after he pushes Nadal further and further to the back of the court. Nadal saves the first with his third ace, and the second when a deft return forces Zverev to volley long. The third is saved too when Nadal plays an incredible low angled forehand on the run that passes Zverev at the net. Shot of the match. We’re back on serve at 5-6. Rafa gets lucky with his first serve taking the net cord and bouncing in for a let. Nadal saves the fourth set point when, after another absorbing rally, Zverev’s stretching angled volley drops out.
An absolutely stunning forehand winner down the line then earns Nadal set point at 7-6, but it’s on Zverev’s serve and he saves it after pushing Nadal to the back of the court and forcing the error. Nadal then goes 8-7 up when Zverev nets after a long rally. This time set point’s on his serve, but this set cannot be stopped and Nadal overhits badly to prolong it further. He wins another set point next though, and he nails this one with another brilliant backhand down the line. What a gruelling set that was.
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First set: Nadal 6-6 Zverev* (* denotes server). We got ourselves a tiebreak. Zverev moves comfortably to 40-0, including a third ace, before sending a soppy backhand return into the net. Another double fault gives Nadal a sniff but a fortunate net cord helps Zverev to hold and force the tiebreak.
“Notwithstanding this result, do we appreciate Nadal enough,” asks Gary Naylor. “He has a goofy grin where Federer has imperious beauty and a desperate defence where Djokovic has a ruthless efficiency. But he’s not just an all-time great tennis player, but an all-time great sportsman.” Indeed. I think it’s his overall competitive tenacity that marks him out. He throws himself at everything and it grinds down opponents.
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First set: Nadal* 6-5 Zverev (* denotes server). It’s Nadal’s turn to be put through the wringer on his serve. Zverev, perhaps emboldened by surviving that service game, pushes Nadal all over the court to go 0-30 up. Nadal’s deft backspinning drop shot gets him back in it, and another disguised drop takes him to 30-all. However, a brilliant angled passing shot from Zverev gives him a break point. Nadal saves it with a strong wide serve, but can’t do anything about the thunderous forehand winner after a long rally that earns Zverev another break point. Rafa saves this one too with a cute drop-volley, and a poor return from Zverev then cedes an advantage to Nadal. Zverev nets a return to finally wrap up the game.
This set is more than an hour old.
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First set: Nadal 5-5 Zverev* (* denotes server). This feels like a big, arduous hold for Zverev after saving set point three times. Nadal overhits a crosscourt forehand before Zverev errs with an overlong back-of-court forehand. A withering high forehand at the net from Zverev takes him to 30-15 but it’s 30-30 after Nadal pins his opponent in the corner of the court and forces a mistake. Zverev’s response is a fierce and forensic backhand winner which is then followed by a soft double-fault for deuce. A smash at the net gets Zverev ahead only for another mishit to keep Nadal in it. Nadal at his competitive best in the next rally earns himself a set point when Zverev nets. But it’s saved by a fine first serve. Nadal’s backhand into the net is followed by another Zverev double-fault and we’re at deuce again. Zverev seems to dominate the next rally but undermines it all by volleying long to give Nadal another set point. That one’s saved too by confident serve-and-volleying by Zverev. Yet again though, Zverev squanders rally dominance by angling a forehand out. Set point No 3 is saved too, with a superb forehand winner. Another strong serve sets Zverev up to put the game to bed but he only goes and volleys limply into the net to gives us the seventh deuce. Nadal overhits an attempted pass at the net and Zverev finally secures the hold with an angled drop shot. Phew!
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First set: Nadal* 5-4 Zverev (* denotes server). After an incredibly high-quality start, the odd error is creeping into both players’ games at the moment. Nadal opens his service game with one such, but bosses the next rally, and Zverev then undercooks a forehand into the net for 30-15. Nadal responds with a wayward backhand beyond the line. A good time then, for Nadal to produce a second ace, which he does. Another strong serve puts Nadal in front for the first time in the match.
First set: Nadal 4-4 Zverev* (* denotes server). It hadn’t looked likely until now but Rafa breaks back. Another forceful double-handed backhand gets Zverev’s service game under way, but an attempt at delicacy goes wrong when Radal passes him at the net with an audacious forehand down the line. A miscued Zverev forehand then goes long to give Nadal a glimmer at 15-30, but a volleyed winner at the net followed by a venomous first serve take Zverev ahead. Another unforced error takes us to deuce, before the first double fault of the match gives Nadal break point – but he squanders it at the end of a long rally with a surprisingly sloppy forehand into the net. Then another miscue sends the racket spinning out of Zverev’s hand and gives Nadal a second opportunity to break. This one is taken, when an angled backhand from Zverev goes out.
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First set: Nadal* 3-4 Zverev (* denotes server). Huge cheers greet every Nadal point, and they go up a notch after Zverev nets following a rasping long forehand from the Spaniard. A lovely precise forehand past the advancing Zverev takes him to 30-0 and it’s followed by a clever dinked volley at the net. Zverev then tries another winner down the line but this one is just out. This is more like it from Nadal – on his service games at least. He’s not threatened Zverev on his serve yet though
First set: Nadal 2-4 Zverev* (* denotes server). An easy hold. Zverev larrups a serve down the middle for his second ace, and a brilliant double-handed backhand down the line takes him to 30-0. He repeats the trick with an even better one next point before sealing the hold to love with an unanswerable forehand. Nadal not offered a sniff there.
First set: Nadal* 2-3 Zverev (* denotes server). Nadal’s strongest game so far. His first drop shot of the match yields a point and is followed by an ace – beauty and brutality. But Zverev has the upper hand in the next rally, and Nadal scuffs a forehand into the net. Another strong serve gives Nadal a cushion, and he secures a comfortable hold when Zverev is forced to hit long.
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First set: Nadal 1-3 Zverev* (* denotes server). Zverev comes to the net and dominates a rally that he settles with a withering backhand volley. He moves swiftly to 40-0, as Nadal can’t find the ascendance in another long rally. A rare underhit shot though is followed by a miscued forehand long but Zverev seals his service game with a strong serve.
First set: Nadal* 1-2 Zverev (* denotes server). There’s no doubt that Zverev looks the more powerful and potent player so far, as demonstrated by a fine angled forehand winner from the back of the court. Nadal responds with a fierce serve that Zverev nets, but he’s pushed around again on his serve and Zverev passes him for 15-30. Nadal then finally gets some ascendancy in a rally to force Zverev to hit long, and follows it up with another couple of excellent first serves to get himself up and running.
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First set: Nadal 0-2 Zverev* (* denotes server). A fierce first serve earns Zverev his first service point, which he follows with a stunning forehand winner down the line and an unstoppable ace. He’s denied an eighth point in a row by an overlong forehand, an error he repeats to get Nadal back to 40-30. But Zverev’s pace and power are too much for Nadal in the next rally, and the German wraps up the hold.
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First set: Nadal* 0-1 Zverev (* denotes server). Zverev breaks straight away. Nadal wins the first point after Zverev’s return loops off the net and beyond the baseline, and the second with a raking crosscourt forehand. Zverev responds with a fierce forehand winner after a lengthy rally, and outpoints him in the next one too to make it 30-all. He earns a break point after Nadal nets, and he converts it when Nadal hits long. Zverev’s height and strength are to the fore there, and Rafa’s up against it early on.
Nadal has a 6-3 winning record against Zverev, but the German has won three of their four most recent meetings, including one on clay in Madrid last year.
Out come the players. Huge cheers for Nadal, who emerges first, and a rather more restrained one for Zverev, but no boos. It’s properly chucking it down in Paris, and a small huddle of spectators are braving it out in ponchos on deckchairs at Roland Garros’s Henman Hill equivalent.
British interest in the wheelchair doubles final:
2020 ✅
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2022
2021 ✅
2022 🔜
Reigning champions @alfiehewett6 and @GordonReid91 are into the men's wheelchair doubles final for the third consecutive year, getting past Caverzaschi/De La Puente 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(8). #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/bLzrHPHu3O
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Talking of Coco Gauff, she’s only gone and reached the women’s doubles final too, she and Jessica Pegula beating Marion Keyes and Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6. The eighth-seeded American pair will play either Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko or Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who are currently in a deciding set, in the final.
In weather news, it’s raining in Paris. So Nadal and Zverev will face off under the roof on Philippe Chatrier.
And the Argentinian Gustavo Fernández and Shingo Kunieda of Japan are in the men’s wheelchair doubles final after beating the No2 seeds Stéphane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer.
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Pre-match reading. Our man in Paris on Nadal’s ongoing love affair with Roland Garris:
And a profile of tomorrow’s teenage women’s finalist, by Caira Conner:
Preamble
Afternoon everyone. And welcome to men’s semi-finals day. If the quarters were anything to go by, we’re going to be strapping in for a long ride. We kick off of course with Rafael Nadal against Alexander Zverev, where we’ll get to see just how much that epic quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic has taken out of the Spaniard. If his fitness holds up, Nadal is well placed to claim that 14th Roland Garros title, and with Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz out of the way his chances may be strengthened. But Alcaraz’s conqueror, Zverev, will present a formidable challenge. He’s crept through this French Open slightly under the radar but his composed defeat of Alcaraz served notice of his threat.
After that, a resurgent Marin Cilic takes on the promising Norwegian Casper Ruud, who predicted he wouldn’t sleep until 4am after his four-set victory over Holger Rune. Assuming he’s rested up, he’ll pose a stern test to Cilic, who’s riding a crest of a wave after ousting Daniil Medvedev and seeing off Andrey Rublev in a magnificent quarter-final on Wednesday.
Should all be well worth hanging around for. Nadal v Zverev starts around 1.45pm BST.
