Rafael Nadal defeated his old rival Novak Djokovic in four sets to reach his 15th French Open semi-final. He will play the semi- final match against 3rd seed, Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard won the pair’s 59th career meeting 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) after a 4 hours and 12 minutes quarter-final on Court Philippe Chatrier.
After the match, Rafa gave his thoughts on the game. He said, “I’m very emotional. For me it’s incredible to play here. Playing against him is always an amazing challenge… To win against Novak, there is only one way, to play your best from the first point until the last.”
Before the match, Nadal admitted he does not like playing at night at Roland Garros. Therefore, he wanted his quarter-final match versus Djokovic to be scheduled as day match.
Nadal has made it abundantly clear that he does not enjoy playing on clay in the evening. However, the organisers at Roland-Garros did not listen to his plea. They listened to Novak Djokovic who prefers playing on clay in the evening.
Nole admitted that he and the Spaniard would “make totally different requests” over their preferences for the timeslot in Paris. After the quarter-final loss against Nadal, Djokovic said, “Congratulations to Rafa, he was better in the important moments. He showed why he was a great champion. Well done to him and his team, he deserves it.”
Can Nadal win his 22nd Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open?
Rafael Nadal will face German player, Alexander Zverev at the semi-finals of the 2022 French Open. He moved closer to his 22nd Grand Slam title after defeating Novak Djokovic.
Nadal is a French Open veteran with the most number of titles with 13 wins. He missed out on a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title last year, having lost to eventual champion Djokovic in the semi-finals. He is still on track for a record-extending 22nd men’s Grand Slam title.
🤩 What a set! What a comeback! 🤩
🤔 Is 14 next for @RafaelNadal ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0Wa4mjZoau
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2022
The duo faced each other for the 18th time in a Grand Slam. The both of them has contested the most matches at Grand Slams in the Open Era. Their rivalry has surpassed that of Djokovic and Roger Federer (17).
The Spaniard earlier in the tournament overcame Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet, and Botic van de Zandschulp. He recently defeated Felix Auger Aliassime in five sets.
Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev : Head to Head
Previously Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev has faced each other nine times. In all these encounters the Spaniard had the upper hand. Nadal has won six times out of the nine.
The Spaniard and the German have met each other in:-
- ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, USA (2016).
- Australian Open, Australia (2017).
- ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, Monaco (2017).
- ESP vs GER WG Quarter-finals, Spain (2018).
- ATP Masters 1000, Rome, Italy (2018).
- Nitto ATP Finals, Great Britain (2019).
- ATP Masters 1000 Paris, France (2020).
- ATP Masters 1000 Madrid, Spain (2021).
- ATP Masters 1000 Rome, Italy (2021).
Alexander Zverev has only won in Great Britain, Paris and Spain. In all the other matches, Rafa had the upper hand.
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