Rafael Nadal showed up at Roland Garros with his personal doctor along for the trip, hoping to get some help with the chronic pain in his left foot that바카라s been an off-and-on problem for years. (More Tennis News)
Nadal, as is his wont, has downplayed his chances at a 14th French Open trophy and 22nd Grand Slam title overall 바카라 both of those numbers would add to records he already holds 바카라 and repeatedly said he has no idea whether each match might be the last of his career in Paris.
Still, he sure looked just fine from up-close, playing with his usual resilience and joie de vivre all the while.
Never more so than during the victory over No. 1 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic that moved Nadal into the semifinals on Friday 바카라 the Spaniard바카라s 36th birthday 바카라 at the clay-court major tournament that he has lorded over for so long. At the 1:15 a.m. conclusion of that 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) triumph as the calendar flipped from Tuesday to Wednesday, Nadal turned toward his guest box in the stands and smiled quite a wide smile, then covered his face with his taped-up fingers.
바카라I (was) emotional because, of course, the last three months and a half for me ... haven바카라t been easy,바카라 Nadal said, referring to both a rib injury and the foot issue that limited both his number of matches and his hours on a practice court.
A victory over No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany on Friday would allow Nadal to continue on the path to another championship at the French Open. And if he also were to go on to win Sunday바카라s final against either 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia or No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway, who meet in Friday바카라s other semifinal, there also would be this to consider: Nadal would own the first two legs of a calendar-year Grand Slam for the first time.
Hard to believe, maybe, but Nadal never has managed to get halfway there. His lone Australian Open title before this January came in 2009, the year he lost at Roland Garros for the first time, eliminated in the fourth round by Robin Soderling.
Nadal바카라s French Open record is 110-3 (two of the defeats came against Djokovic, in 2015 and a year ago) and he is into his 15th semifinal there.
The prospect of how many more contests he might have left has been something he has addressed more than once in recent days.
Asked after defeating Djokovic how much the raucous crowd support he received in Court Philippe Chatrier helped, Nadal said: 바카라Probably, they know that I바카라m not going to be here for a lot more times.바카라
Moments later, after mentioning his doctor바카라s presence, Nadal said: 바카라I am putting everything that I have to try to play this tournament with the best conditions possible, no? I don바카라t know what can happen after, honestly.바카라
When a reporter wanted to know how thoughts about his future affect him, Nadal replied: 바카라I don바카라t know what바카라s going to happen after here. I mean, I have what I have there in the foot, so if we are not able to find an improvement or a small solution on that, then it바카라s becoming super difficult for me.바카라
Nonetheless, he managed to win two matches that each lasted more than four hours, against No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, then against Djokovic.
바카라I바카라m not surprised at all,바카라 Djokovic said. 바카라It바카라s not the first time that he is able, a few days after he바카라s injured and barely walking, to come out 100% physically fit.바카라
Nadal바카라s opponent, Zverev, was the runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Open and a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. The 25-year-old, who is under investigation by the ATP after being accused of abuse by a former girlfriend, is playing in the Roland Garros semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Zverev owns a single victory in 12 Slam matches against opponents ranked in the top 10; that came Tuesday when he eliminated No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz.
Cilic, 33, and Ruud, 23, are making their semifinal debuts in Paris. For Ruud, it바카라s his first appearance in the final four at any major. For Cilic, it completes a set of at least one semifinal at each major.
바카라He won a Grand Slam before, (been in) several finals, so he has more experience than me,바카라 Ruud said about Cilic, 바카라so I have everything to win and nothing to lose.바카라
While the other semifinalists have combined for one major title, Nadal can increase his lead to two over Djokovic and Roger Federer in the career Grand Slam count. They are both at 20.
바카라There is always a conversation about the player who finished with more Slams or who is the best (in) history, but from my perspective, doesn바카라t matter that much,바카라 Nadal said. 바카라We achieve our dreams. We make history in this sport, because we did things that didn바카라t happen before.바카라
