{"id":36141,"date":"2022-06-04T07:13:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T07:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/french-open-rafael-nadal-casper-ruud-into-final-on-day-of-injury-and-protest-drama\/"},"modified":"2022-06-04T07:13:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T07:13:21","slug":"french-open-rafael-nadal-casper-ruud-into-final-on-day-of-injury-and-protest-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/french-open-rafael-nadal-casper-ruud-into-final-on-day-of-injury-and-protest-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"French Open: Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud Into Final On Day Of Injury And Protest Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rafael Nadal reached his 14th French Open final on Friday when 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.<\/p>\n
Nadal was 7-6 (10\/8), 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Minutes later, the 25-year-old returned on crutches and conceded the match, with Nadal embracing his heartbroken opponent.<\/p>\n
“If you are human, you feel sorry for a colleague,” said 13-time French Open champion Nadal.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Crying<\/strong><\/p>\n He added: “For me, to be in the final of Roland Garros is a dream, without a doubt, but at the same time, for it to finish that way … I have been there in the small room with Sascha and to see him crying like that … “<\/p>\n Zverev later said he had “suffered a very serious injury”.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “But congratulations to Rafa, it’s an amazing achievement to be in the final for the 14th time.<\/p>\n “I hope he goes all the way and makes more history.”<\/p>\n Until the dramatic end of the match, Zverev had been pushing Nadal all the way.<\/p>\n In a rollercoaster, 91-minute first set, Zverev broke in the opening game before Nadal leveled at 4-4.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Nadal, celebrating his 36th birthday Friday, then saved four set points in a knife-edge tiebreak, one of them off a spectacular running crosscourt forehand.<\/p>\n A blistering forehand pass gave him the opener on a sixth set point.<\/p>\n Zverev, playing in the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the second successive year, hit 25 winners and 26 unforced errors.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Nadal becomes the second oldest man to make the final in Paris after 37-year-old Bill Tilden who was runner-up in 1930.<\/p>\n Victory saw Nadal, who knocked out world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, take his record at the French Open to 111 wins and just three losses.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n ‘Idol’ Nadal<\/strong><\/p>\n Nadal has made the final despite his own doubts over his long-term future in the sport.<\/p>\n A chronic left foot injury has forced him to admit that any match may be the last of his record-breaking French Open career.<\/p>\n He needed over four hours to see off Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets in the last-16 and then required another four hours to defeat Djokovic in four sets.<\/p>\n Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Slam final and hailed Nadal as his “idol”.<\/p>\n World number eight Ruud fired 16 aces and 41 winners past 2014 US Open champion Cilic.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “It was a great match from my side, I didn’t start the greatest but Marin played a very good first set,” said 23-year-old Ruud.<\/p>\n “I look up to Rafa. He’s the perfect example of how to behave on the court, never gives up and never complains. He’s been my idol all my life.”<\/p>\n Ruud described the protest as a “tricky and difficult situation”.<\/p>\n Promoted<\/span><\/p>\n “I only saw her back, I didn’t know if she was holding anything or what was around her neck.”<\/p>\n (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n Topics mentioned in this article<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rafael Nadal reached his 14th French Open final on Friday when 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 …<\/p>\n