Rafael Nadal is through to his 14th Roland Garros final from 18 trips to Paris. Nadal battled against Alexander Zverev under a closed roof over Court Philippe-Chatrier, and it could have been one of the most epic encounters in the Roland Garros semi-finals. The rivals needed over three hours to reach the second set tie break, but the German could not play it after injuring his ankle on a slow and muddy court. They pushed each other to the limits, and the opening set lasted for almost 100 minutes! Zverev made a stronger start and led 4-2 before Nadal bounced back to get back on the positive side.
Alexander Zverev injured his ankle and retired against Rafael Nadal.
The German fended off three set points in the tenth game to introduce a tie break and opened a 6-2 advantage. Giving his best to survive, Rafa fended off four set points and stole the breaker 10-8 for a massive boost after an epic battle. Zverev led 5-3 in the second set and served for it before Nadal made another escape to prolong his chances. The set should have gone into a tie break, but Alexander injured his ankle in the 12th game’s last point, leaving the court and returning on crutches just to announce the retirement.