Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev are all set to kick off the men’s singles semifinal for the 2022 French Open on Friday.
On Court Philippe Chatrier, which will be followed by the match between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic for the second finalist.
Nadal, who is celebrating his 36th birthday on Friday, will continue his chase for his 14th major at the Roland Garros and stays in the hunt for a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam. He is also looking to complete a double of Australian Open and French Open title victories in the same year for the first time in his career.
Zverev, on the hunt, will be aiming for his maiden Slam. His previous best at a major was the US Open final in 2020 where he had gone lost a five-setter after going two sets up against eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
This is also the second consecutive time he has reached the French Open semis, after having been stopped by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 campaign. For the 25-year-old German, he has also been handed an advantage to take the World No.1 spot with Novak Djokovic’s exit should he lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires on Sunday.
Ahead of the blockbuster semi-final clash, we take a look at their head-to-head tie and some of the key stats…
This will be their 10th ATP Head2Head meeting with the Spaniard leading 6-3.
Five of their nine meetings have come on clay with Nadal, once again, leading 4-1, with the 35-year-old winning the last meeting which was in Rome Masters last year.
This will also be their second Grand Slam meeting after the 2017 Australian Open clash in the round of 32. Nadal had bounced back from one set to two to script a victory in the five-setter tie.
Nadal owns a jaw-dropping 110-3 record at the French Open and 13-1 in semi-finals at the Roland Garros. Overall, he has a 29-7 win-loss record in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
Zverev, on the other hand, is 1-3 in major semi-finals and has an 18-6 overall record at the Roland Garros.
Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, is 6-1 on his birthday.
Rafael Nadal Alexander Zverev
First serve win rate 70.50% 72.30%
Second serve win rate 62.20% 44.60%
Return win 45.60% 41.40%
Aces 10 56
Break points saved 17/30 23/37