Rafael Nadal will have a chance to play for his 14th French Open title on Sunday. Unfortunately, he advanced due to an Alexander Zverev injury in the second set.
The Spaniard led 40–30 in the game as Zverev led the second set 6–5. Nadal was trying to push the match into its second tiebreak. However, on that final point, Zverev slipped on the clay court and fell down yelling in pain.
He held his right ankle and rolled around in the clay until his trainer came on the court. Nadal came to his side to see if he could be of assistance.
Zverev was then taken off the court in a wheelchair. He came back on the court with crutches to announce that he would be retiring from the match. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.
It’s unclear what Zverev’s injury officially is yet, although it looked pretty serious based on the 25-year-old’s reaction.
The German put up a fight in the match, though. The first set lasted 91 minutes as the two battled in the long tiebreak. Nadal ended up winning the tiebreak 10–8.
The second set was also a back-and-forth battle as Zverev had the upper hand most of the set.
Nadal will play in the men’s singles final on Sunday against the winner of Casper Ruud and Marin Čilić.
