Rafael Nadal reaches French Open final after Alexander Zverev retires with ankle injury
PARIS -- Rafael Nadal has become the second-oldest men's finalist in French Open history after his semifinal opponent, Alexander Zverev, stopped playing Friday because of an injured right leg. Now Nadal will try to become the oldest champion at a tournament he has already won a record 13 times.
Playing on his 36th birthday at an event he first won at 19, Nadal emerged to claim a tight-as-can-be, draining first set that lasted 1½ hours by a 7-6 (8) score. The second set also was headed to a tiebreaker after another 1½ hours when Zverev tumbled behind the baseline while chasing a ball to his right.
Zverev's black outfit was covered in rust-colored clay, as were his legs and arms, and he immediately grabbed his right ankle, screaming in pain.
A trainer came out to attend to him, and Nadal walked around the net to check on Zverev, too.
Zverev then was taken off the court in a wheelchair. Several minutes later, he came back out using crutches and said he needed to retire from the match. He shook the chair umpire's hand and then hugged Nadal.
"Well, it was very tough and very sad for him," Nadal said. "He was playing unbelievable tournament. He's a very good colleague on the tour. I know how much he's fighting to win a Grand Slam, and for the moment he was unlucky. He will win more than one Grand Slam, and I wish him all the best.
"It's one of the biggest challenges to play Zverev when he's playing like this. It's a super high level. It's difficult to say things in this situation. For me to be in the final of Roland Garros is a dream, but at the same time to finish that way and to see him crying is a tough moment, so all the best to him."
Nadal has been dealing with chronic pain in his left foot and was coming off a pair of victories that each lasted more than 4 hours -- including against defending champion Novak Djokovic on Tuesday -- but showed no signs of age, injury or fatigue against 25-year-old Zverev.
The match was played indoors at Court Philippe Chatrier, with the retractable roof installed in 2020 shut because of afternoon showers.
In addition to bidding for a 14th trophy from the French Open, Nadal can claim his 22nd Grand Slam title to extend the men's record he already holds after his triumph at the Australian Open in January.
Djokovic and Roger Federer are tied at 20.
Nadal will meet No. 8 Casper Ruud in Sunday's singles final. Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final by eliminating 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Ruud returned Cilic's big serve well enough to break him five times and even hit more aces, 16-10. Cilic had 33 aces in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The semifinal was interrupted for more than 10 minutes in the third set by a climate activist who attached herself to the net and knelt on the court.
The eighth-seeded Ruud is 23 and never had been past the fourth round at any major tournament until now.
His father, Christian, was a professional tennis player from 1991 to 2001.
Ruud has shown that he can play well on clay, with tour highs of seven titles and 66 match wins on the surface since the start of 2020.
Ruud has trained at Nadal's tennis academy in Spain and refers to the 36-year-old Spaniard as his idol.
Nadal, meanwhile, will be historic company on Sunday. The only older men's finalist in Paris was Bill Tilden, the runner-up at 37 in 1930. The oldest champion so far was Andres Gimeno, who was 34 in 1972.
Nadal has said in recent days that he can't be sure whether each match might be his last at the French Open. His left foot is the primary reason for that pessimism.
"All the sacrifices, and all the things that I need to go through to try to keep playing," Nadal said, "really make sense when you enjoy moments like I'm enjoying in this tournament."
Information from ESPN's Tom Hamilton and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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