Nadal defeats Federer in windy conditions to make it to the finals of the French Open

Rafael Nadal has beaten his longtime rival Roger Federer to make it to the finals of the French Open. This will be an incredible 12th French Open final for the Spaniard.

The Spanish superstar won the match 6-3 6-4 6-2 in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

The Match

The condition was less than perfect for the match, there was light rain and gusts of wind. In the first game of the first set, Nadal saved one break point which helped him build momentum for the rest of the match. He broke the first serve of the Swiss and took lead 2-0. Federer broke the world no.2 in the 5th set and bridged the gap (3-2). The 11-time champion again broke Federer’s serve in the next game to lead 4-2. After this, the world no.2 won two of his service games to win the set by 6-3.

In the 2nd set, the Swiss took the early lead by breaking in the 2nd game but Nadal bounced back and broke Federer in the very next game. The Spaniard again got a break in the 9th game to lead 5-4 and then he held on his serve to win the set 6-4. The 9th game turned out to be crucial for both the players. The world no.3 was leading 40/0 but Nadal showed incredible consistency and broke Federer with his fifth straight point.

The world no.3 later commented about the play in the 2nd set saying that serving against the wind with Rafa’s quality on return was decisive.

The third set was a breeze for Nadal who broke the world no.3 twice to win the set 6-2. The world no.2 won 8 out of 9 games after being down 3-4 in the second set.

Federer thought that the conditions for a big match like this was not good:

“I think the first set was mostly about getting used to conditions, it was incredibly windy. Especially for a big match like this for both of us, it’s just really complicated. So you’re trying to see how much can you do or can you not do? Are you playing flatter or with more spin? Are you keeping the ball in play? Are you going for stuff? I think that was basically the story of the first set, more or less.”

Nadal will now try to capture his 12th French Open crown and for this, he will have to defeat either Djokovic or Thiem, the other semifinalists this year.