Wednesday, June 9th 2021
By demonstration to the semifinals
Nadal’s incredible series ends without consequences
Rafael Nadal has already won the French Open 13 times – and there is not much to prevent him from making it a 14th time: In the quarterfinals, Diego Schwartzmann Nadal delivers a tough fight, but in the last set the Spaniard allows the number ten in the world an unbelievable five Points.
Top favorite Rafael Nadal has once again reached the semi-finals at the French Open. The 13-time Paris champion won against the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 0, but was really challenged for the first time this year at the Stade Roland Garros. Schwartzman, who had eliminated Philipp Kohlschreiber and Jan-Lennard Struff in the previous round, was able to keep the game open for three sentences. Then the world class of the 35-year-old Spaniard prevailed again.
Last year, Nadal had won in the semi-finals against the Argentine. This time he turned his first match point after 2:45 hours. Nadal will now face the winner of the duel between the Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic and the Italian Matteo Berrettini on Friday. The other semifinals are contested by Alexander Zverev and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“I had to play my best tennis today to win. This win gives me a lot of confidence,” said Nadal after his 105th win in the 107th game at the Stade Roland Garros. Impressive figures, which Nadal did not want to deal with: “This is something for the time after your career. Now you have to concentrate on the next game.”
Schwartzman showed a top performance for a long time and kept getting Nadal into trouble. The Spaniard took the first set after 42 minutes, but Schwartzman didn’t give up. The number ten in the world managed a quick break in the second set. Nadal soon made it away, but at the score of 4: 5, the Mallorcan lost his service game to equalize the set. The encounter was now completely open. Schwartzman offered Nadal a gripping fight and sniffed the sensation up to 4: 4.
But when it came down to it, Nadal was back on his favorite tennis court. The Spaniard took Schwartzman’s serve to 5: 4 and took the third set shortly afterwards. This broke Schwartzman’s resistance, and Nadal stormed into the semifinals in Paris for the 14th time. Remarkable: In the last set, Nadal only allowed his opponent five points. After all, Schwartzmann ended a huge series of Nadal: The 4: 6 in the second set was Nadal’s first set loss in Roland Garros after 36 (!) Set wins in a row.
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