Paris – Alexander Zverev had long since returned to his hotel when Rafael Nadal added another emotional chapter to the epic story on his favourite court at the Stade Roland Garros.
On the last day in May, Nadal had begun his quarter-final against his great rival Novak Djokovic, and on the first day in June it ended with his 110th singles win in Paris and tears in Nadal’s eyes.
“Merci, Merci, Merci,” the 35-year-old Mallorcan shouted to tennis fans still raving on Court Philippe Chatrier well past 1.00am. “This is a very emotional day for me,” Nadal said after his brilliant 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in 4:12 hours against world number one and defending champion Djokovic.
“I have what I have in my foot”.
Nadal has won the clay-court classic an unfathomable 13 times, and Centre Court at the Bois de Boulogne has long become his living room. This is where he has developed into who he is – and this is where one of the greatest careers in tennis history could possibly end these days. More than ever, it is unclear what will happen to Nadal after the French Open.
The record Grand Slam winner has been playing for a long time with a chronic foot injury, the so-called Müller-Weiss syndrome. In this case, parts of the bones of the scaphoid bone in the foot die off, which can have a particular effect on the ankle joint. Only three weeks ago, Nadal was barely able to walk at the end of a match at the tournament in Rome. Even a start at the French Open seemed doubtful.
“I have what I have in my foot. So if we are not able to find an improvement or a small solution for it, then it will be super hard for me,” Nadal said. “Of course I will keep fighting to find a solution for it, but so far we haven’t found one.”
“The king is still there”
For his big dream of a 14th title in Paris, Nadal is accepting the pain once again. He has a doctor with him especially to make the discomfort bearable. Against Djokovic and also before in the energy-sapping five-set thriller against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nadal did not notice the problems. The Spaniard did what he always does at the Stade Roland Garros – play breathtaking tennis. “The king is still here,” wrote the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” after Nadal’s next tennis gala.
He will also need one on Friday in the semi-finals. Because Zverev was almost in no way inferior to Nadal on Super Tuesday in the quarter-finals against tennis prodigy Carlos Alcaraz. The Olympic champion showed by far his strongest match this year and was justifiably proud afterwards. It was certainly one of the best Grand Slam matches of his career, Zverev said. “But it was far from perfect.”
Playing against Rafa here the hardest task
With which the 25-year-old was once again a little too hard on himself. Because the way Zverev disenchanted the Spanish high-flyer Alcaraz was already impressive. The Hamburg-born player has rarely been seen as focused as he was this time. From the very first ball, you could tell that Zverev wanted to prove to everyone that he was still there. That “even at my old age of 25 and even though many have kind of already written me off” he is one of the best on the scene.
In Paris, Zverev is not only aiming for his long-awaited first title at a Grand Slam tournament, but also for first place in the world rankings. It is already clear that Zverev will definitely be number two in the world in a fortnight’ time. He has never been in such a good position. Should Zverev win the title in the French capital, he would even take over first place in the ranking – as the first German since Boris Becker in 1991.
But first he has to play Nadal. And foot problems with the Spaniard or not, it couldn’t be more complicated. “Playing against Rafa here at Roland Garros is certainly the hardest task you can have in tennis,” Zverev has already said several times. And that will also be the case on Friday.
