It was the outcome he wanted, but 13-time champion Rafael Nadal’s road to another Roland-Garros final took an unexpected detour on Friday afternoon.
Nadal was celebrating his 36th birthday and looking for another signature win on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
After three hours, he was locked in an absorbing semi-final contest with Alexander Zverev that was heading into its second tiebreak.
But Zverev was unable to continue after badly rolling his ankle running after a forehand at 7-6(8), 6-6
Nadal raced to his opponent’s side of the baseline right away, and the German was eventually helped off the court in a wheelchair.
Nadal, whose own storied career has been plagued by both chronic and acute injuries, commiserated with the 25-year-old and wished him a speedy recovery.
“It's not easy and beautiful to talk after what happened,” said Nadal, who was by Zverev's behind the scenes as the German was getting scans done to invesitage the extent of his injury.
While Nadal kept his celebrations understandably muted, the newly-turned 36-year-old was pensive after the match as he reflected on the monumental achievement of reaching his 14th championship match at Roland-Garros.
“Happy of course to be able to give myself another chance to play on second Sunday here in the final of Roland-Garros. That means a lot to me.
“And even [with] all the sacrifices and all the things that I need to go through to try to keep playing, it really makes sense when you enjoy moments like I'm enjoying in this tournament.”