French Open 2022 | Watch – Injured Zverev returns on crutches to thank fans

In an unfortunate turn of events, Zverev had to withdraw from the semifinals vs Nadal after twisting his ankle. The injury looked quite serious and a wheelchair was brought in to take him off-court. Nadal advanced to the the final.

In a heartwarming moment, Zverev came back to the court, got a thunderous standing ovation, and had a special embrace with Nadal. He also thanked the crowd for their support.

Nadal’s journey to the semi-finals:

Rafael Nadal vs Jordan Thompson – 1st round opponent 

The Spaniard began his French Open 2022 campaign against Jordan Thompson. The  World No. 82 Thompson had won just one main-draw match on clay at the ATP level this year. Nadal registered a (6-2, 6-2 6-2) win over Thompson.

Rafael Nadal vs Corentin Moutet – 2nd round opponent 

Nadal scripted a 3-0 (6-3, 6-1, 6-4) victory against Corentin Moutet. After this match, the head to head between Nadal and Moutet became 1-0.

Rafael Nadal vs Botic Zandshulp – 3rd round opponent 

This was the first time that Nadal and Zandshulp clashed against each other in the main tour. Nadal registerd an easy win of (6-3, 6-2, 6-4).

{img-17499}

Rafael Nadal vs Felix Aliassime – 4th round opponent

Felix Auger entered the French Open in good form after reaching the quarterfinals of four straight events. The Canadian has also reached at least the quarter-final stage of the previous three Majors. However after an interesting match, Rafa won by (3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3) against Botic.

Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic – Quarterfinal opponent 

Nadal’s arch-rival and defending champion Novak Djokovic had ended the Rafa’s title defense in the semifinal last year. However, after a thrilling match, Nadal won the match by (6-2, 4-6, 7-2, 7-6) and became the oldest player to reach semi-finals of French Open.