French Open day 13: Alexander Zverev’s pain, an unwanted interruption, Coco Gauff doubles up

French Open
Alexander Zverev in pain - only in PA content

Rafael Nadal reached his 14th French Open final after opponent Alexander Zverev suffered an ankle injury on a dramatic day at Roland Garros.

German third seed Zverev fell near the baseline and injured his ankle. He had to leave the court in a wheelchair and returned on crutches to say he could not continue.

Spaniard Nadal, who has won the previous 13 finals he has contested in Paris, will face Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud after his victory over Marin Cilic, which was interrupted by a protester.

Here we look back on an eventful day 12 at Roland Garros.

Picture of the day

Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev

Zverev bravely came back on to court on crutches alongside Rafael Nadal to confirm he could not carry on (Christophe Ena/AP)

Match of the day

Even though it was curtailed prematurely, Nadal and Zverev had given us more than three hours of scintillating tennis. Nadal was a set up after coming from 6-2 down in the tie-break to win it 10-8 with some breathtaking shot-making. With the match about to enter a second tie-break it was anybody’s guess who would have prevailed – or how long it would have gone on for.

Catch of the day

Former Roland Garros champion Mats Wilander was on hand to help out the ball kids.

Stat of the day

Nadal’s record at Roland Garros now stands at 111 wins and just three defeats

Shot of the day

Nadal took the first set with a savage forehand down the line.

Quote of the day

“Even if for me it’s a dream be in the final of Roland Garros, of course that way is not the way that we want it to be.” – Rafael Nadal

Unwanted interruption

Protest at Roland Garros

A woman invaded the court and chained herself to the net during the Ruud/Cilic semi-final (Michel Euler/AP)

Doubling up

As if Coco Gauff does not have enough on her plate already, the women’s singles finalist also reached the final of the doubles after she and Jessica Pegula beat fellow Americans Marion Keyes and Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6.
They will meet French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic on Sunday.

Brit watch

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid made up for their singles disappointment by reaching the men’s wheelchair doubles final again. The reigning champions will face Gustavo Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda in Saturday’s final as they bid for a third successive French Open title.

Fallen seeds

Alexander Zverev (3), Marin Cilc (20)

Up next

A women’s tournament which saw nine of the top 10 seeds eliminated before the end of the first week has still somehow managed to throw up a final full of star quality.

Top seed Iga Swiatek’s showdown with 18-year-old American Coco Gauff should be a very watchable match and starts at 2pm UK time.

Alexander Zverev Coco Gauff Rafael Nadal

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