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PARIS — Rafael Nadal advanced to his 14th French Open final Friday under conditions no champion wants, with his opponent, third-ranked Alexander Zverev, suffering what appeared to be a significant injury late in the second set.
Nadal, who was celebrating his 36th birthday, rushed to the opposite side of the net to check on Zverev, 25, who howled in pain the moment his right foot buckled outward at a severe angle while he chased down a ball on the slippery red clay court’s baseline.
The capacity crowd at 15,000-seat Court Philippe-Chatrier fell silent amid Zverev’s anguished wails, and a trainer was quick to rush to his assistance.
Zverev, the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up, was seeking his second career appearance in a Grand Slam final. He sobbed as he was helped up from the court and taken off in a wheelchair for medical evaluation.
Nadal had claimed the 98-minute opening set by fending off four set points in a 10-8 tiebreaker. He then battled back from an early deficit in the second set and was a point from forcing another tiebreaker when Zverev’s footing on the baseline went horribly awry.
After a few minutes’ pause in the action, Zverev returned to the court on crutches. Nadal walked beside him as Zverev reached up to shake the chair umpire’s hand, and his retirement from the match was announced.
The two players embraced. And Zverev acknowledged the cheers of the crowd, which had been unabashedly pro-Nadal throughout, by raising one crutch at a time while Nadal gathered his opponents’ belongings and packed his bag at his courtside chair.
Zverev’s retirement sent Nadal into Sunday’s final, in which he will face eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway, who defeated 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia to reach his first Grand Slam final, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
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