• Rafael Nadal took advantage of Alexander Zverev's retirement to qualify for his 14th Roland-Garros semi-final on Friday.

  • But the Spaniard had a lot of trouble in this meeting before the abandonment of his opponent.

  • To explain his bizarre match, Rafa relied on the particular playing conditions of this half played in indoor conditions.

At Roland Garros,

We will never know what would have happened if Alexander Zverev's ankle had not turned on the clay of center court.

One thing is certain, before the abandonment of his opponent to injury, Rafael Nadal was clearly not having a great day.

If he managed to win the first set in the tie-break after 1h31 of play, "it's a miracle" as recognized by the man with 13 victories at Roland-Garros.

Touched on the foot for weeks, the Spaniard did not however invoke his physical condition to explain his bizarre match where we felt without juice, except on a few memorable shots.

"Physically I'm fine but the playing conditions were particularly difficult today," explained Nadal.

"The playing conditions are the slowest I've seen in a very long time"

Due to the storms that hit Paris on Friday afternoon, the roof of the Philippe-Chatrier court was closed.

Suddenly, the meeting was played in indoor conditions which clearly do not favor the Mallorcan.

“The playing conditions are the slowest I have seen in a very long time at Roland-Garros.

There was a lot of humidity this afternoon.

The bullets were very heavy.

It was very difficult to put the effect, to lift.

The conditions were not ideal for me compared to usual.

That's why I failed to create the game I wanted to dominate it.

Sascha (Zverev) was playing very well but with these conditions it was even harder for me to push him away.

He hit clean balls every time.

I was mostly in survival mode,” said the Spaniard.

Already struggling in the round of 16 with... the roof open

Well, we don't have to take his word for it because when Nadal struggled in 5 sets last Sunday against Auger-Aliassime, the roof was open and, even if it was cold, the conditions were quite good.

But hey, the intox does not eat peacocks before a final.

What is certain, however, is that the Spaniard is in survival mode in this 2022 edition which is undoubtedly the most complicated for him in Paris for a while.

But Rafa is (still) in the final and frankly, it was not won for a guy who was struggling to walk just a month ago in Rome.

“I wasn't very positive about my foot but I knew I could play here.

I did everything I could to give myself this opportunity to be where I am.

I'm happy to be in good shape, to be able to give myself the opportunity to play in the final.

It means a lot to me.

Even if there were a lot of sacrifices to continue playing.

All this makes sense when I take full advantage of it.

Nadal concludes.

Even on one foot, even abused, even less impressive (except against Djokovic), the Spaniard will be in the final on Sunday in Paris for the 14th time in his career.

So far, he has never lost a single one.

With or without good playing conditions...

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  • Sport

  • Roland Garros 2022

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Alexander Zverev

  • Tennis