French Open 2022 men’s semi-finals: Nadal’s longevity in focus, Cilic rolls back the clock-Sports News , Firstpost

Rafael Nadal takes on Alexander Zverev in the first 2022 French Open semi-final. AP

With the men’s singles semi-finals at the French Open beckoning, we take a look at the two matchups. First up on court will be Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal. This would be followed by the second semi-final featuring Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud. Without further ado, a look at the two semi-finals.

Alexander Zverev vs Rafael Nadal

Ujwal Singh: After a rib injury and a title-less clay season, Rafael Nadal was both the greatest champion of all time and the underdog of sorts when the French Open began. Carlos Alcaraz, 19, and World No 1 Novak Djokovic were billed as the favourites. But as it happens so often in Paris, Nadal has once again outlasted the best of the bests.

He defeated Djokovic in a late night quarter-final that stretched to four sets and was played over four hours and 12 minutes. Nadal outlasted Djokovic physically and mentally. Alcaraz, who entered the Slam after title wins in Madrid and Barcelona, was knocked out in one of the other quarter-finals. His conqueror, third seed Alexander Zverev will now face Nadal in the first of the men’s singles semi-finals.

Nadal has a big advantage over Zverev and leads 6-3 in their previous meetings. On clay, it stands at 4-1. He also won the only meeting between the two in a Grand Slam. And yet Zverev has more than one reason to be optimistic. With the victory over Alcaraz, he broke his 11-match losing streak against a top-10 player. He also reached at least the semi-finals of all the major tune-up events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. Nadal is the favourite but Roland Garros is unpredictable and we should be in for a thriller nonetheless.

Tanuj Lakhina: By eliminating Djokovic in the quarter-final, not only did Nadal highlight his credentials, not that he has to, especially at Roland Garros, but made himself the heavy favourite to make it 22 and 14. The two golden numbers that the Spaniard would be eager to tick. A 22nd Grand Slam title would take him two past Djokovic and Roger Federer, while also extending his record in Paris.

For Zverev, the win over Alcaraz would feel special for many reasons. First and foremost, it avenged the loss he suffered in Madrid – against the hottest thing in tennis right now. And the German would be conscious of the fact that it was his first win over a top-10 player at a major.

Both players come in with a challenge of their own. Nadal had an over four-hour duel with Djokovic into the wee hours which could have affected his recovery. For Zverev, the challenge lies in not succumbing and staying mentally strong through the match. And there’s also the Nadal-at-Roland-Garros obstacle.

Marin Cilic vs Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud (L) makes his maiden semi-final appearance at a major against Marin Cilic in Paris. AP

Ujwal Singh: The story of the second men’s singles semi-finals is somewhat similar to the first. An experienced tennis hand is up against an exciting young talent. 33-year-old Marin Cilic has the 2014 US Open title to his name but he hasn’t been into a Grand Slam final since the 2018 Australian Open. Here he faces World No 8 Casper Ruud.

World No 23 Cilic made it to the semi-final after beating Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev and knows that in a very long time he has a very good chance of winning a Slam or at least reaching the summit clash. But he has a 0-2 head-to-head against Ruud.

The Norwegian had a decent clay season, reaching the semi-finals in Rome and winning the title in Geneva. In the last two years, he has had 65 wins on clay courts, most on the Tour. The numbers, and the form, make Ruud an overwhelming favourite, but then again Cilic was an underdog even in his last two matches in Paris. Past matters for little at the grandest of stages, what you do on the day counts. And both players are well aware of that.

Tanuj Lakhina: Stefanos Tsitsipas was the favourite to come through this side of the half. Neither Cilic or Ruud were contenders but have deserved their place in the semi-finals. Cilic has never been this far at Roland Garros and Ruud has never been this far at any major.

Cilic joins the esteemed company of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray by reaching the semis of all four majors. For the first three matches, the Croatian flew under the radar. Then he got past World No 2 Medvedev and Rublev in a five-setter. What’s working for him? He’s playing hard court tennis at a clay-court event. Over the course of five matches, he’s tallied 69 aces, 252 winners, 180 unforced errors and been 61/90 at the net.

Ruud is the first Norwegian man to reach the semis of the French Open. A former World No 1 junior, Ruud has had to endure tough matches on his way here. He got slightly lucky when Jo Wilfried-Tsonga hurt his shoulder in the first round and then been pushed to four sets by Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune, five sets by Lorenzo Sonego.

For all of Cilic’s experience and ruthless tennis in the last two weeks, Ruud is the favourite to come out top in this semi-final and a 2-0 head-to-head should bolster his confidence.

Watch Roland Garros 2022 Semi-final LIVE on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 2nd & 3rd June 2022.

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