Rafael Nadal has advanced to the French Open final after Alexander Zverev fell during a point, injured his right ankle and stopped playing.
A little more than 3 hours into the match, Zverev was running to his right to chase a ball when he tumbled. His black outfit was covered in rust-colored clay and he immediately grabbed his lower right leg, screaming in pain.
A trainer came out to attend to him, and Nadal walked around the net to check on Zverev, too. Zverev was taken off the court in a wheelchair.
Several minutes later, he came back out using crutches and said he needed to retire from the match.
Nadal won the first set 7-6 (8). The second set was also headed to a tiebreaker when Zverev went down.
“Well it was very tough and very sad for him,” Nadal said. “He was playing unbelievable tournament. He’s a very good colleague on the tour. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam and for the moment he was unlucky. He will win more than one Grand Slam and I wish him all the best.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges to play Zverev when he’s playing like this. It’s a super high level. It’s difficult to say things in this situation. For me to be in the final of Roland Garros is a dream but at the same time to finish that way and to see him crying is a tough moment, so all the best to him.”
Information from ESPN’s Tom Hamilton and The Associated Press was used in this report.