In an unfortunate turn of events, Zverev had to withdraw from the semifinals vs Nadal after twisting his ankle. The injury looked quite serious and a wheelchair was brought in to take him off-court. Nadal advanced to the the final.
In a heartwarming moment, Zverev came back to the court, got a thunderous standing ovation, and had a special embrace with Nadal. He also thanked the crowd for their support.
Nadal's journey to the semi-finals:
Rafael Nadal vs Jordan Thompson - 1st round opponent
The Spaniard began his French Open 2022 campaign against Jordan Thompson. The World No. 82 Thompson had won just one main-draw match on clay at the ATP level this year. Nadal registered a (6-2, 6-2 6-2) win over Thompson.
Rafael Nadal vs Corentin Moutet - 2nd round opponent
Nadal scripted a 3-0 (6-3, 6-1, 6-4) victory against Corentin Moutet. After this match, the head to head between Nadal and Moutet became 1-0.
Rafael Nadal vs Botic Zandshulp - 3rd round opponent
This was the first time that Nadal and Zandshulp clashed against each other in the main tour. Nadal registerd an easy win of (6-3, 6-2, 6-4).
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Rafael Nadal vs Felix Aliassime - 4th round opponent
Felix Auger entered the French Open in good form after reaching the quarterfinals of four straight events. The Canadian has also reached at least the quarter-final stage of the previous three Majors. However after an interesting match, Rafa won by (3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3) against Botic.
Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic - Quarterfinal opponent
Nadal's arch-rival and defending champion Novak Djokovic had ended the Rafa's title defense in the semifinal last year. However, after a thrilling match, Nadal won the match by (6-2, 4-6, 7-2, 7-6) and became the oldest player to reach semi-finals of French Open.
