Both Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev probably feel like they should already be in the French Open final. One of them, however, will be ousted in the semis on Friday afternoon.
Nadal needed five sets to get past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, after which he outlasted world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Tuesday night. That quarterfinal contest between the two all-time greats lasted four hours and 12 minutes. Fortunately for Nadal, he has two full days off prior to the semis and his first three matches–against Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet, and Botic van de Zandschulp–were walks in the park.
Zverev was one point away from being bounced out in the second round. The third-ranked German came back from the brink of defeat to beat Sebastian Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. Zverev also got the best of Sebastian Ofner, Brandon Nakashima, and Bernabe Zapata Miralles to reach the last 16, where he upset Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) on Tuesday.
Needless to say, it has not been easy for either man.
But they have made it to semifinal Friday, and their reward is a 10th career head-to-head meeting. Nadal holds a 6-3 lead in the series, including 4-1 on clay. They faced each other twice last spring on the red stuff, with Zverev pulling off a 6-4, 6-4 upset in Madrid before Nadal–playing in far more favorable conditions–gained revenge in the form of a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the Madrid Masters.
Conditions should be back in the 35-year-old’s favor on Friday. His quarterfinal showdown against Djokovic was played late at night, but the first semifinal between Nadal and Zverev is scheduled for 2:45 pm local. That’s much better for the Spaniard’s game, even though–let’s be honest–it hardly matters what the situation is whenever he takes the court at Roland Garros. After all, Nadal is 110-3 lifetime at this tournament with 13 titles.
He can’t win No. 14 on Friday, but he can put himself in great position. And given his form throughout the fortnight and two day of rest following his hard-fought defeat of Djokovic, that is exactly what Nadal can be expected to do.
Pick: Nadal in 3
WWW?
Ricky you predicted Carlos in 3 too (:- …
Carlos was the favourite for RG…
Maybe it’s time for a surprise winner…
Just like in 2015… I predicted Wawrinka believe it or not
Novak was the favourite!!
After Madrid Carlos was the favourite according to some experts…that changed in Rome.
You predicted Carlos here in tourney predictions
Rafa in four.
Not an easy walk in the park.. Tricky match for sure when Zverev serves good. Zverev will win the first set fast.
!! No he won’t!!
Good thing they play first as it is forecast to rain in the early evening so the second match the roof will be closed.
Zverev has had a poor/mediocre season with one good performance against Alcaraz. He was poor before that match at RG so it’s really not necessarily the case that he will play well. Alcaraz gave him a lot of free points.
Anyway, the good performance is against the run of play.
Yep, loads of free points from Alcaraz. He ain’t getting em from Rafa.
Nothing about Zverev’s performance against Alcaraz suggests he’ll trouble Rafa.Zverev has a great backhand and that helps with handling Rafa’s forehand. Rafa will move him all over the court, make returns Zverev isn’t going to expect and just cruise to victory in 3 sets. This is how I feel about the match.
What VR said! 🙂
I expect Rafa to proffer a solid performance here!! He is close to the finish line so I KNOW he is going to definitely give it his all baring any unforeseen.
I watched his match with Novak again and contrary to what I thought both Rafa and Novak played a great match especially in the fourth set. Rafa just would NOT let up no matter how down and out things seemed! If he goes into this match with Zverev with that same mindset, serve or no serve, Zverev would be lucky to win a set!! Vamos, champ!!!
Meanwhile Iga and Coco in the final. So proud of them both!!!!
I just finished watching THAT MATCH for the first time! I found it very hard to watch, not sure why. I love the USO final they played in 2013, watched it through again recently. Both in their prime, amazing rallies.
Have to agree…Rafa in 3. Vamos!
If Rafa’s health is okay, win in 3 sets losing 8-10 games max.
Rafa in 4 sets.
Rafa in 3 or 4. Go Rafa! If the ATP had any guts, Zverev would not be playing.
I agree with you!
I was impressed with Zverev’s win against Alcaraz, but this is surely a much tougher match-up. Carlos is an amazing talent (moves like young Rafa, pounces with the forehand like young Fed), but on his bad days he still sprays enough errors for elite defensive players to take advantage. Even if Zverev catches Nadal on a bad day, he’s not gonna get that many UE’s, Rafa plays with so much margin. Zverev might be able to get something out of his BH against Nadal (Nadal BH looked below par against FAA), but I feel like his FH is more vulnerable than Alcaraz made it seem. No doubt Nadal will also be using the drop shot with similar effect to Carlos.
Overall Zverev would need to have a great day on serve & be clutch (uncommon) to have a hope. I still suspect he may crumble if he doesn’t win the first set, so I’m also going with Nadal in 3.
Can we please stop talking about Alcaraz in these terms? The absurd comparisons to both Rafa and Fed are just ridiculous. He is out of the tournament and his performance showed that he is inexperienced at this point. Let the kid develop on his own and just stop with the comparisons to the greats.
No, there’s nothing wrong with comparing players stylistically, which is all I’m doing. Alcaraz is extremely quick yet powerful in a way that reminds me of Nadal. The way he moves into forehands and cuts the ball off is eerily reminiscent of Fed. There’s nothing absurd whatsoever about either of these things. I’m not claiming he’s going to be a big 3 player, or win 20 slams, I’m just admiring tennis attributes which he has & which are very rare.
The QF between Nadal and Novax was definitely not the best match they’ve played against each other, not even their best best confrontation at RG. Maybe this was partially due to not playing in a final and knowing that they need to leave something left for the next two games. They weren’t ideally prepared going into the match either. However, I think it was mostly because neither is in the best state of mind right now.
The Serb is egomaniacal. Feeding off the crowd’s disapproval during a game is one thing. Being deported, banned from even entering other countries, criticised by mostly everyone, being made fun of and generally speaking losing credibility and respect is totally different. I don’t think that he completely got over that or that he ever will during his playing career.
Rafa may be forced to suspend (again!) or even end his playing career because of his foot issues. I can’t even begin to understand how he’s able to keep going under the circumstances. I’m sure that this affects him mentally though.
In any case, what I liked about the QF is that both played fearlessly. They were not going for broke, but they didn’t hold back or played safe when they had a chance to attack. Sure, there was indecision at times, but not caution. They just both threw everything they had at the moment. Hats off for both of them.
Not much to be said about the SF. Like I stated before, Zverev has more of a clay game than Alcaraz , but definitely not enough to take down Rafa. Carlos would have probably been more of a problem for his compatriot though, because he defends incredibly and can hit hard from impossible positions. If the Russian serves lights out, he may take a set, but I don’t expect too many dips in Nadal’s level today.
I really hope we see a consistent performance from Rafa today.
I made the point Margot made above on another thread: that Zverev should have been banned for months after his appalling attack on the umpire in which case Rafa would have been the fourth seed and we would have had a far more balanced draw.
It really would be awful for Zverev to be in the final.
Anyway, if Rafa plays as he can he won’t be.
Come on Champ! Let’s have a great consistent performance today !
I think in retrospect the draw worked out just right. Maybe if Rafa was #4 or in the other half he probably would have been undercooked by the time he met Nole or Nole probably would have peaked by then and be able to beat Rafa. Or Alcaraz probably would have made it to the semis and beat Rafa there bcoz Rafa had not peaked enough. I mean who knows?! Or Rafa may have met Cilic and lost, I mean there could have been endless possibilities so now I think things may have well worked out in the end. Even Rafa didn’t mind the draw so much.
All in all, I am just hoping that Rafa wins and plays well enough so that he could have enough left in the tank for the final! One match at a time! Vamos!!
You not confident today Mona?
BTW today’s match will be closed with roof closed
Novak fans have gone into overdrive from day before and sh!tting all over Twitter accusing rafa of doping..they even did the same post ao…these Novak fans just can’t take a loss sportingly..downright disgusting
Here is one tweet..this one is sarcastic..others are direct lol..I can’t help pitying their sorry state of mind
https://mobile.twitter.com/pavyg/status/1532614802849288194
They are talking about necrosis of the foot? What the hell is that?
Oh Sanju, I’ve seen them, it’s laughable!!! But if that’s what makes them sleep well at night then good for them. It really doesn’t change anything or the fact that Rafa is the clay GOAT and his legacy will last a lifetime!! The fact is Rafa beat Novak fear and square given that he wasn’t even tipped to Make it that far or to beat Novak, and today on his birthday 🎉 🎂 🥳 he will be playing for a spot in the final!! Happy birthday Rafa, wishing you continued health, happiness and prosperity!!! Vamos!!
Fair*
Djoko paying the price of being Novax .
He didn’t get enough match practise.
The whole standard hasn’t been great despite all the hype over Alcaraz and Cilic reaching this far instead of Tsitsi has got to be a surprise result.
It sounds like Rafa will be crippled after this.Wimby looking increasingly unlikely
Great start I don’t think!
Come on Rafa get a grip!amy
This is not a good start. Maybe we underestimated Zverev.
Rafa needs to serve better!
Not a great start but I’m not worried yet he just needs to get used to Zverev pace and serves. He’ll turn it around soon!! Vamos, Tafa!!
Hope so. until now he is not able to get a point on zverev’s serve. Hope he breaks back and takes first set somehow and not give sacha a belief.
When Rafa gets his first serve in he wins the point! Funny that!
Now break!
same things again rafa not able to get point on Sacha’s serve. waiting eagerly to change it
And Rafa strategy is to hold and be patient. He knows sooner or later Zverev will not continue serving like this and he will have his chances. He is not panicking yet! There is NO way Zverev can continue serving like this for four/five sets!! That kind of serving take a toll!!
Yay!! Rafa broke back finally. Very Happy. keeping fingers crossed for either 6/4 or 7/5
Come on Rafa!
Rafa breaks!
Zverev’s level dropped the last 2 games
Now hold!
Now is definitely the time for Rafa to strike again..
Come on Rafa
C what I told u guys?!!! Patience just patience!! Believe u ure man!! Expect Rafa”s level to dip too……we need to get used to Rafa”s moods and swings. But he knows what he’s doing out there and how to win!! Vamos, Rafa!! Mind I not sure I would want Rafa to play TB with Zverev”s serves, yikes!!
I’m on the road so can’t watch just keeping up with the scores. Should be home in a few minutes!
Take this Rafa!
no TB pl. close it before that
Ugh! That was a let off! He should have taken the set..,
sacha kept his serve. Hope rafa keeps his after long game.
Sigh. Now he has given Zverev confidence…
Good to see the drop shot
He should hit more
Rafa also needs to become more aggressive
Rafa should move closer to the baseline to return second serves; he’s not adjusting his positions so Zverev doesn’t need to think much, just serve as Hugh as possible! He should at least create some doubts in Zverev’s head!
He has wasted so many chances! His ROS has deteriorated even on clay.
Ugh a tb
What a missed fh
looks like sacha going to take this first set. he took mini break back and his own now. no more TB Pl
So much drama!
How many set points will he waste!
Here’s another
Yesss!
Amazing he took that tie break
Suddenly raised his level
Oh that was a torture. I think Rafa was tentative today. Great he wont the set.Hopefully should free him now.
Oh mine! Thanks God, Rafa wins the TB and the first set, what a drama!
Rafa! This is so unbelievable, so unreal! I thought Rafa was going to lose the set when he went down 2-5 in the TB, what a turnaround! Vamos!
He did it! That was too close for comfort! That shot to win the tiebreak was unreal!
Rafa has to be more aggressive now
No second set let down please Rafa!
This is the reason why we Rafans must be some kind of lunatics! One has to live through the sets like this and stay sane 😃 this is nerve breaking!
Great from Rafa to win the first set!
Vamossss Champ!
Rafa is a MONSTER!!! Winning that TB trailing 6:2!!!! Only Rafa can do that and against a serve that is Zverev”s!!! Now Rafa can open his wings and fly!!! VAMOS!!
This humidity is hard for Rafa
Yes!! Saw him playing and it looked like he literally fell in a pool!!!! It’s crazy, he probably needs to change!
However, VAMOS!!
That freaking forehand DTL!
Rafa breaks
Now hold
Ffs!
I am really angry he lost his serve up 40 love
That’s y I HATE early breaks!!!! It just doesn’t make sense if u can’t hold!!!
Zverev making a lot of errors at net
I think Rafa is really feeling the humidity
Really needs some excellent first serves
Yeah, but he must be feeling very deflated!! So his focus is not sharp, Rafa breaks again! Hope he hold on form there!! He needs to stop letting Zverev into the match! He should have been 4:0 by now!
Loads of errors from Rafa
Just chucked his serve away
this is getting very frustrating
on serve again 🙁
Rafa’s second set let down…did everything to let Zverev back into the match..
Rafa’s serve is just horrible, can’t even make a first serve! Come on Rafa, if you can hold serve, at least break serve to stay in the set! Vamos!
If you can’t hold serve, at least break your opponent’s serve!
The humidity can’t be easy and plus he’s probably a tad winded, after all he worked hard to win first set! Just give him a break! 😝😃
Rafa is playing better receiving than serving
Think the humidity affects him a lot serving
Ok bpsgone
He had Zverev on the ropes then let him back in
Rafa hasn’t won a single point behind his first serve this set!
The one thing he is doing consistently is be brilliant at net…
I do think the humidity and the serve clock affect him badly…
Rafa playing tentative again
That just won’t work
zverev broke rafa. not able to hold his serve. Not able to watch match. what is happening. is rafa playing bad or zverev playing better
Rafa playing bad. Very tentative.
It’s pretty unwatchable right now
He just looks exhausted
humm. zverev broke back again wrong time for rafa. serving for set
See, breaks twice and gets broken three times, like in the QF! What’s Rafa thinking! He’s spending extra energy on court unnecessarily; please break Zverev’s serve again!
You know people have to start giving Zverev some credit. He could have gotten discouraged and let it get away from him. He is hanging in there. Rafa is having trouble with the humidity.
He has to go for his shots.
Otherwise he is done
You know people have to start giving Zverev some credit. He could have gotten discouraged and let it get away from him. He is hanging in there. Rafa is having trouble with the humidity.
This second set is not of high quality, full of errors from both, and six breaks of serves! Unbelievably bad!
Cone on Rafa, hood serve here for a change!
The humidity is just destroying both, Rafa even more.. I hate when they play under the roof! That is just not what RG clay is about! This is painful to watch!
Vamos Rafa!
Yeah I just switched off my ipad
Sorry that was me
I can’t watch any more
Rafa just seems so done in by the humidity that I can’t watch..
is roof closed?
Oh my gosh! Neither one can hold? The conditions r atrocious though, for real!!! Y is Rafa sweating this much, the ventilation is poor?
! I’m still on the road running errands! If I was home I’d really be a nervous wreck, good thing I can keep updated on the scores while I do my thing!!
The good thing about Rafa when he retires is that I won’t have to deal with all that drama, nerves and anxiety!!! 🤣😂
rafa need to hold here otherwise set is gone
Hey let’s keep it real. Rafa just broke Zverev again. So they are trading breaks. They both are having their issues.
And not only that u can hardly hold that racket properly when u sweating buckets!!
humm. french open put roof but did not think of making it better for players.
Hopefully another TB which honestly is such a nightmare!!
I live a 4 and a half hour drive from Paris and here the weather is humid but very sunny.. unfortunate that they have to close the roof in Paris
what was purpose to close roof? due to humidity
It was raining….
There is almost always an element of drama whenever Rafa is playing some important match, lol!!! It’s like the gods just like for Rafa to be battling, something or another!! Sigh!!
yep Sigh. Now AZ took medical timeout. hope rafa can take this TB too and finish in 3. bit less suffering
This is sad 😢 wish Sasha to recover soon. It is heartbreaking to see him in pain..
Oh my gosh, Zverev has suffered a bad fall, has to be wheel-chaired away for treatment! Oh what drama! Come on it’s Rafa’s birthday today, please no more drama!
It looks quite a bad fall, Zverev has twisted his ankle, don’t know whether he can continue playing.
If Rafa’s foot starts acting up now we might have a Paralympic wheelchair tennis rest of semifinal
Haha!
Not funny
So sad for Zverev! I want Rafa to win but not in this way!
I hope Zverev’s injury is not too serious and hope it would not affect the rest of his season. So sorry for him, he’s playing well enough to push Rafa to the limit here.
Just my thought. not good for AZ. sorry for him
Rafa would not want to win this way. I hope Zverev recovers soon. He gave it his all. I think some here underestimated him. He was putting up quite a fight.
Sad to see any match end like this, for the crowd, for Sasha, (not so much for Rafa, I’m sure he’ll also be sad yet relieved that this gruelling sweat marathon)
Commiserations to Zverev fans, he’ll be back again. As Rafa just said, he has a few slams in him yet.
Really pleased Rafa came through, but a shame the match ended like that.
Oh no!! That’s a real bummer!! Zverev deserves better than this!!! He did out up a fight, I have a renewed appreciation for Zverev”s game and I do wish him a speedy recovery! I’m sure the ankle is not bad as it looks and he’ll be back in quick time, but it’s just really unfortunate. It’s not Rafa”s fault obviously so he can go rest and wait for Sunday! Hope the conditions r more favorable! Vamos!!
Meanwhile I’m stuck at the office!! 😆
me too. not able to watch live. just watching scores. but really sad for Zverev. it should not end like this for any player.
Happy for the win, but… didn’t want it this way. I was NOT looking forward to a final between Abuserev and Cilic!! Nor did I want to see an exhausted Rafa barely able to move in the final. So I’ll take it. Rafa was moving so slowly in the first few games, it really scared me. He is mortal, he can get worn down, even at RG, and the tennis gods seem to be doing their darndest. I have never seen such awful draws as Rafa has faced – and conquered! – this year.
I switched off half way through the second set.
Have never done that before but I honestly thought Rafa was gone physically and I just couldn’t watch.
All credit to him if he managed to hold on until.the tb.
Sorry it ended this way but glad for Rafa. Obviously I didn’t see the fall.
Really really hope they don’t play under the roof on Sunday and that it’s not you know who.
Yeah, hope it’s bright sunshine on Sunday but whoever meets Rafa in the final will try to grind Rafa down seeing how he struggled physically. So he needs to approach match all guns blazing so he can wrap it up in three!! I hoping so but I can’t watch Rafa age 10 years in the tennis court!! Vamos Rafa, good luck on Sunday!! 🙏🏽
Let’s not forget the drop shots at 5 all first set and the 4 fh winners back to back to steal the first set tb..
That needs shouting from rooftops for its brilliance
Sanju,
Yes! Thank you for pointing it out!
Rafa should be exhausted with this draw. Playing Novak in the quarterfinals was brutal. That takes it out of him, I am not surprised that he looked tired. That should have been the final.
It’s the only break Rafa has gotten. But I am sorry it had to come by Zverev getting injured.
I hope Rafa can take a break and get ready for the final.
Nny..beating a member of big 3 does take its toll ..it invariably has a let down next match on most occasions what happ to Novak last year in rg final.. he lost the first 2 sets…he was helped by a huge choke job by Stefanos..
I bet rafa is nervous too n saw this as a danger match given that he is very close to title..let’s cut him some slack ,he is 36 now n had come off 2 tough matches before n no much lead event preps
How’s weather for Sunday? If we get Cilic under roof it will be dangerous.. Casper is playing well but I expect Casper will trouble rafa less than cilic
Sanju,
I am in complete agreement with you! So well said! I think it’s amazing that Rafa had played two back-to-back matches totaling about 8 hours. Having to play his biggest rival and the no. 1 player in the quarterfinal after playing Felix in the fourth round. He really got the draw from hell.
Rafa talked about the tough conditions during the match and how it affected his ability to make his shots. The humidity with the roof closed was terrible. Jim Courier said that Rafa had to keep the balls out of the pockets of his shorts because they would get wet and be even heavier. Rafa did so well to fight hard and win the first set.
Unfortunately, I heard that the weather is supposed to be rainy and humid again. 😡
Roof may well have to be closed again.
3.13 match time.. Just 2 sets.
Sunday to rain again. Ugh
yes, humidity is high too at 80% on sunday
Like seriously? Is this site just speculating ? I bet rafa did not say this that too before rg final
https://mobile.twitter.com/gigicat7_/status/1532777589546303490
Now these kind of statements make me mad .why even talk abt losing the final…rafa pls stop doing this..as it is I am having nightmares of a 2015 repeating as it happ with Stan n nole..n esp if it’s roof closed again
Nny, Mona, Amy. What do u say to this
https://mobile.twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1532782345941573632
Sanju, Rafa is just putting things into perspective, and he is right! The amount of pain he probably goes through I would not want to be in his shoes!!! So I can understand y he is saying that given that he has to live with something like that for the rest of his life and that it impacts his career. Luckily for Rafa he gets to turn 36 today and he has more money that he can spend. He has a successful academy and he can look forward to so many post career opportunities while enjoying his legacy. Rafa is in good stead!! Winning the trophy on Sunday would be just the cherry on top 😁
He was asked it .such stupid qns who even asks such rubbish https://mobile.twitter.com/TennisPodcast/status/1532784534978281474
Rafa has not made a decision yet about wimby according to gennny.
As per stu Fraser
https://mobile.twitter.com/stu_fraser/status/1532784833537114114
Rafa rest for 2 weeks but please play wimby, if you pass first week, your chances are very high to win it all ..please rafa don’t skip wimby
I know wimby has no points but rafa is not playing for points or money at this stage of career
No Sasha, no Medvedev, no Novak till sf as rafa will be seeded 3…chances are bright …
Nah, this Wimby is one big ginormous asterisk to me!! Rafa should pass, thanks!!
You wanted one more wimby for him no .he shld play
So y did they suspend cilic and Rius”s match? If roof is closed y can’t they continue with match?!! But they were happy to continue with Rafa”s match till he dropped dead! I feel bad for Zverev but sad his injury saved Rafa from perhaps near collapse!
??? It’s still going on, but not for much longer. Cilic is about to serve down 2 sets to 1, and down 1-5 in the 4th.
??? It’s still going on, but not for much longer. Cilic is about to serve down 2 sets to 1, and down 1-5 in the 4th.
Pity about Zverev he really took it to Rafa and if not for all the double faults could well have won a set there. Rafa did play a couple brilliant points in the 1st set breaker as he always does on big points but Zverev had the chance on his first set point serving – then hit a cross court to Rafas forehand that barely reached the service line and thats not good enough.
I really enjoyed the coverage on Eurosport with everyone including Rafa saying Zverev had really stepped up , got his tactics spot on and is a future Slam winner . Real shame it had to end there- a bit of a relief for Rafa the match could have gone another couple hours.
Nice to see some respectful comments about Zverev from one or two posters on here also. And the embrace at the end .
The tough conditions?
Its tough for his opponent, too.
Ruud likes his topspin, too .