Nadal denies Djokovic semi-final
The French Open will conclude in less than 4 days, yet with every day that passes competition becomes fiercer.
The quarter-finals saw seeds No. 1, 6 and 7 of the men’s competition being eliminated from the competition.
Men's Competition
Djokovic versus Nadal
This type of match-tie is reminiscent of a Grand Slam final. However, in France this was merely a quarter-final match between 20-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and the ‘King of Clay’, 13-time French Open champion and 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.
Court Philippe-Chatrier erupted at the introduction of both Djokovic and Nadal and after a couple minutes the game was underway. Nadal from the the get-go was fired up and showed no mercy, hitting winners every time Djokovic returned the ball short.
The match lasted for 4 sets. The Spaniard took the first set 6-2 and the Serb quickly levelled the game in the second set, taking it 4-6. Nadal returned with a vengeance in the 3rd, taking the set 6-2. The result of winning match point in the 4th set tiebreaker meant that Nadal denied Djokovic the opportunity to win his 21st Grand Slam title at the 2022 staging of the French Open. The final score was, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
King of clay 👑#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/T5ZCoIn6Sk
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2022
Zverev gets Revenge
Earlier in the day on Court Philippe-Chatrier, seed No. 3 Alexander Zverev and the 19-year-old, seed No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz went head to head in a 4-set match. The game ended 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 in favour of Zverev. For Zverev, this match meant a lot. It is his first time winning a match against a top 10 player at a Grand Slam event and it represents a major confidence boost for the German who lost the Madrid Open Final against Alcaraz.
Zverev will face Nadal in the semi-finals on Friday for a spot in the Final to be decided on Sunday.
Čilić versus Rublev
Seed No. 20 Marin Čilić went the distance in his match against Andrey Rublev on Wednesday. Čilić served big and returned big, understanding the competition cross the net. Čilić served a whopping 33 aces compared to Rublev’s 15 and these proved most effective for Čilić in the 5th set tiebreaker. The match ended 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 in Čilić’s favour.
Ruud defeats Rune
Holger Rune sent shockwaves across Court Philippe-Chatrier when he eliminated seed No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in his 4th Round match.
In his quarter-final match, at just 19-years-old, Rune put up a fierce fight against the Norwegian. However, the match came to an end in the 4th set, after a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory by seed No. 8 Casper Ruud.
Ruud and Čilić will play their semi-final match on Friday.
Advantage Norway 🇳🇴@CasperRuud98 breaks away from Holger Rune, pocketing the third set 7-6(2).#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/U11Hn6Qwc4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2022
👇👀#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/4a1SSPY4mq
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2022
Women's Quarterfinals
In her quarter-final match, seed No. 18 Coco Gauff faced fellow American, Sloane Stephens, for a spot in the semi-finals. Gauff has not dropped a single set all tournament and continued her straight set streak to win the match against Stephens, 7-5, 6-2.
Seed No. 17 Leylah Fernandez fell to the unseeded player Martina Trevisan in the quarter-finals. The match ended 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.
Seed No. 1 Iga Swiatek eliminated seed No. 11 Jessica Pegula from the tournament in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Seed No. 20 Daria Kasatkina advanced to the semi-finals after eliminating Veronika Kudermetova in the quarters, 6-4, 7-6.