French Open: Rafael Nadal has another mountain to climb against Alexander Zverev
- Nadal holds a 6-3 head-to-head record against the 25-year-old Zverev with the Spaniard winning four out of five times they have met on clay
- Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the No 1 seed, continues her march towards a second Roland Garros title in three years after she demolished Russian Kasatkina in just 64 minutes
After the high of beating arch-rival Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal heads into his French Open semi-final against Germany’s Alexander Zverev on Friday aiming to keep alive his bid for a record-extending 22nd grand slam title.
The Spaniard’s biggest hurdle in his quest for a record 14th title at Roland Garros was defending champion Djokovic but Nadal overcame the world number one in a vintage quarter-final.
Zverev will have a chance to spoil the birthday party for Nadal, who turns 36 on Friday, and victory for the third seed would keep the Olympic champion on course for a maiden major title and the chance to climb to the top of the rankings.
Nadal holds a 6-3 head-to-head record against the 25-year-old Zverev with the Spaniard winning four out of five times they have met on clay.
The left-hander, who won the Australian Open in January for a record 21st major title, will be fully focused.
“I am not the kind of guy and player that emotionally goes high and low. I am very stable, I think, emotionally,” Nadal said.
Zverev, who reached the 2020 US Open final, beat a first top-10 opponent at a grand slam in 12 attempts when he took down Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz, ranked sixth, in the quarter-finals.
