Rafael Nadal turned 36 on Friday. The Spanish tennis player is set to play the semi-final against Alexander Zverev on his birthday.
Neither his injury nor his age has come in the way of his incredible journey that has proved to be an inspiration all over the world.
Nadal had to enter French Open with his doctor because of a chronic foot injury, medically known as Brailsford Disease that is progressive at times and is linked with severe pain and disability.
In the quarter-final match, Nadal Was pitted against his arch-rival Novak Djokovic. He defied the odds and defeated the World no.1 to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
The Spaniard is among the oldest tennis players to reach semi-finals and would join Roger Federer to become the oldest semi-finalist at Roland Garros. Federer reached the semi-final of the French Open in 2019 when he was 36.
The fifth-seeded Nadal is set to face Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals as he will be bidding for a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title.
“I am okay. I am excited to be in the semi-final, of course. I know, I had a good victory and a good level of energy in the quarter-final. But now, another big challenge is coming. Zverev is playing great. He had a great clay-court season. He won against Alcraz because he did a lot of things well, so I need to play my 100 per cent again. He is one of the best players in the world. So the only way to get through is to play aggressively and with the right determination from beginning to end. And just be focussed all the time,” Nadal said on a video posted by the French Open Twitter handle.
