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Nadal, Ruud into French Open final on day of injury and protest drama

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Dave James, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alexander Zverev reacts with Rafael Nadal after retiring due to an injury in the men" s="" semifinal="" match="" at="" the="" French="" open="" Roland="" in="" June="" Christophe="" Petit="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/06/04/20220604-nadal-zverev-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Alexander Zverev reacts with Rafael Nadal after retiring due to an injury in the men&#x27;s semifinal match at the French Open at Roland ​Garros in Paris, June 3, 2022. Christophe Petit Tesson, EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div>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.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/03/22/tennis-gauff-swiatek-face-off-in-french-open-final">Iga Swiatek extends winning run, to face Coco Gauff in French Open final</a></li></ul>Nadal was 7-6 (10), 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 semifinal which was held up when an environmental protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/02/22/swiatek-extends-winning-run-to-reach-french-open-semis">Tennis: World No. 1 Swiatek extends winning run to reach French Open semis</a></li></ul>Zverev turned his ankle as he chased down the ball in front of the players&#x27; boxes on Court Philippe Chatrier where his shocked team and family were sitting.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.Minutes later, the 25-year-old returned on crutches and conceded the match, with Nadal embracing his heartbroken opponent.&quot;If you are human, you feel sorry for a colleague,&quot; said 13-time French Open champion Nadal.&quot;It&#x27;s very tough and very sad for him. He was playing an unbelievable tournament and he&#x27;s a very good colleague on the tour.&quot;I know how much he&#x27;s fighting to win a Grand Slam. For the moment, he was very unlucky. I&#x27;m sure he&#x27;ll win not one, but much more than one. I wish him all the best.&quot;<div>- Crying -</div>He added: &quot;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...&quot;Zverev later said he had &quot;suffered a very serious injury&quot;.&quot;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,&quot; he said.&quot;But congratulations to Rafa, it&#x27;s an amazing achievement to be in the final for the 14th time.&quot;I hope he goes all the way and makes more history.&quot;Until the dramatic end of the match, Zverev had been pushing Nadal all the way.In a rollercoaster, 91-minute first set, Zverev broke in the opening game before Nadal levelled at 4-4.The Spaniard, dripping with sweat under the closed roof, saw three set points come and go in the 10th game as the German&#x27;s all-or-nothing hitting kept him in the match.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.A blistering forehand pass gave him the opener on a sixth set point.Zverev, playing in the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the second successive year, hit 25 winners and 26 unforced errors.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.Nadal becomes the second oldest man to make the final in Paris after 37-year-old Bill Tilden who was runner-up in 1930.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.If he wins on Sunday, he would be the tournament&#x27;s oldest champion, eclipsing 34-year-old compatriot Andres Gimeno who took the title in 1972.<div>- &#x27;Idol&#x27; Nadal -</div>Nadal has made the final despite his own doubts over his long-term future in the sport.A chronic left foot injury has forced him to admit that any match may be the last of his record-breaking French Open career.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.Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Slam final and hailed Nadal as his &quot;idol&quot;.World number eight Ruud fired 16 aces and 41 winners past 2014 US Open champion Cilic.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.She wore a shirt which bore the slogan: &quot;We have 1028 days left&quot; before being eventually cut free by security staff. The match resumed after a 15-minute delay.&quot;It was a great match from my side, I didn&#x27;t start the greatest but Marin played a very good first set,&quot; said 23-year-old Ruud.&quot;I look up to Rafa. He&#x27;s the perfect example of how to behave on the court, never gives up and never complains. He&#x27;s been my idol all my life.&quot;Ruud described the protest as a &quot;tricky and difficult situation&quot;.&quot;I only saw her back, I didn&#x27;t know if she was holding anything or what was around her neck.&quot;

Nadal was 7-6 (10), 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 semifinals.

Nadal, Ruud into French Open final on day of injury and protest drama

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Nadal, Ruud into French Open final on day of injury and protest drama

Dave James,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 04, 2022 08:10 AM PHT

Read More:

2022 French Open tennis

Nadal

Casper Ruud

Alexander Zverev

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