Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev withdrew from the French Open semifinals against Nadal after suffering a scary ankle injury. Zverev was taken off-court in a wheelchair, and the crowd was stunned into silence. These are the things you never want to see happen in sports.
Zverev's withdrawal meant that Nadal qualified for the final of the tournament. Twitter was emotional about Zverev's injury, and the fans asked him to keep his chin up, applauded him for his wonderful effort, and wished for him to get well soon.
Here are the reactions.
After qualifying for the semifinals Nadal wasn't really happy with the way things went down.
He said that it was a very tough moment, and he feels extremely sad for Alexander. He further went on to say that Zverev was having an unbelievable tournament and was fighting really hard to win a Grand Slam. In a heartwarming note, he added that he is not going to win one, but many titles in the future.
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.
