Fourth-seeded Zverev defeated Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 on Monday afternoon, with the 27-year-old German becoming the first man to defeat Nadal before the fourth round at Roland Garros and surpassing Robin Soderling. Joined together. And Novak Djokovic is the third man to defeat Nadal on the clay courts of Paris.
Nadal had moments of his old best tennis, particularly with his trademark forehand passing shot. But Zverev's fast serves, aggressive forehands and pressure proved too much for Kelly to overcome after three hours and five minutes.
"To be honest, I don't know what to say," Zverev said on the court after his victory before handing the mic over to the Spanish giant.,
“First of all, on behalf of the entire tennis world, thank you, Rafa. This is a huge honour. I've watched Rafa play all my childhood, and when I turned professional I was lucky enough to play with Rafa, I was lucky enough to play him twice on this beautiful court. Today is not my moment, it is Rafa's moment,'' Roland Garros' official website quoted Zverev as saying.
There was so much excitement for the match that Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek were all sitting in the stands to take in the action. The match was too tight for a straight-sets match, but with Nadal occasionally seizing the momentum – rallying the raucous crows completely behind him – Zverev found the answer to take back control.Nadal, currently ranked 275th, had never played unseeded at Roland-Garros, never facing a top 10 player in the first round. He had never lost consecutive matches even on his favorite clay, but Zverev changed all that with a command performance.
Nadal, who dropped to 112-4 at Roland-Garros with the defeat, gave his loyal fans plenty to cheer throughout the contest, but it was three-time semi-finalist Zverev who held the heavy hand at crucial moments. It marked her second clay-court win over the 22-time Grand Slam champion, and improved to 29–8 lifetime at Porte d'Auteuil.
Deafening chants regularly echoed inside the Chatrier during the pair's 11th meeting, with Nadal's enthusiastic fans doing their best to hold up the roof covering the court throughout the match.A determined Javre prevented the Nadal faithful from getting too unruly in the early stages, however, as he broke Nadal in the first game of the match and wrestled it to 6–3 with a second break of serve in the space of 50 minutes in the opening set. Fought.
The second and third sets took a different path to the same end.
Nadal burst onto the scene in the fourth game of set two, saving two break points at 2–2 and shouting "Rafa!" Took a break for 3-2 with chants of! Rafa!” The echo can be heard throughout the field.
At the insistence of the faithful, the Spaniard remained on the lead for a spell but could not hold off his determined opponent, who broke at love at 5-5 and eventually claimed a tense tiebreak to take a 2-0 lead.
There was plenty of potential for Nadal, which is testament to how far he has come since returning to the Barcelona Tour in April.Although losing, he made us wonder what would have happened if he had had a few more weeks to prepare.
But Monday's match was for Zverev, and he faced the magnitude of the competition with aplomb, rising to the occasion and matching the veteran Spaniard whenever the situation demanded.
Facing another defeat in the third set, Zverev once again seized control from Nada, winning six of the last seven games from 2–0 down to complete his victory in three hours and five minutes.
It was a fantastic competition, full of drama, quality and tension. Of course, the only shame is that such a high-profile competition took place so early in the fairy fortnight.After the match, Nadal was given a proper send-off by the fans, who chanted his name for several minutes, before he picked up the microphone to address them as to his future plans.
"The amount of emotions I have felt on this amazing court throughout my tennis career is incredible," Nadal said. “I never dreamed I'd be here at almost 38, with all the success I've had here, winning so many times – I'm something I never dreamed I would be.
“For me, it is difficult to say what will happen in the future. It's two percent that I won't come back to Roland-Garros, but I can't say 100 percent."I enjoy playing here, I love traveling with the family, and my body feels a little better than it did two months ago."
Nadal had moments of his old best tennis, particularly with his trademark forehand passing shot. But Zverev's fast serves, aggressive forehands and pressure proved too much for Kelly to overcome after three hours and five minutes.
"To be honest, I don't know what to say," Zverev said on the court after his victory before handing the mic over to the Spanish giant.,
“First of all, on behalf of the entire tennis world, thank you, Rafa. This is a huge honour. I've watched Rafa play all my childhood, and when I turned professional I was lucky enough to play with Rafa, I was lucky enough to play him twice on this beautiful court. Today is not my moment, it is Rafa's moment,'' Roland Garros' official website quoted Zverev as saying.
There was so much excitement for the match that Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek were all sitting in the stands to take in the action. The match was too tight for a straight-sets match, but with Nadal occasionally seizing the momentum – rallying the raucous crows completely behind him – Zverev found the answer to take back control.Nadal, currently ranked 275th, had never played unseeded at Roland-Garros, never facing a top 10 player in the first round. He had never lost consecutive matches even on his favorite clay, but Zverev changed all that with a command performance.
Nadal, who dropped to 112-4 at Roland-Garros with the defeat, gave his loyal fans plenty to cheer throughout the contest, but it was three-time semi-finalist Zverev who held the heavy hand at crucial moments. It marked her second clay-court win over the 22-time Grand Slam champion, and improved to 29–8 lifetime at Porte d'Auteuil.
Deafening chants regularly echoed inside the Chatrier during the pair's 11th meeting, with Nadal's enthusiastic fans doing their best to hold up the roof covering the court throughout the match.A determined Javre prevented the Nadal faithful from getting too unruly in the early stages, however, as he broke Nadal in the first game of the match and wrestled it to 6–3 with a second break of serve in the space of 50 minutes in the opening set. Fought.
The second and third sets took a different path to the same end.
Nadal burst onto the scene in the fourth game of set two, saving two break points at 2–2 and shouting "Rafa!" Took a break for 3-2 with chants of! Rafa!” The echo can be heard throughout the field.
At the insistence of the faithful, the Spaniard remained on the lead for a spell but could not hold off his determined opponent, who broke at love at 5-5 and eventually claimed a tense tiebreak to take a 2-0 lead.
There was plenty of potential for Nadal, which is testament to how far he has come since returning to the Barcelona Tour in April.Although losing, he made us wonder what would have happened if he had had a few more weeks to prepare.
But Monday's match was for Zverev, and he faced the magnitude of the competition with aplomb, rising to the occasion and matching the veteran Spaniard whenever the situation demanded.
Facing another defeat in the third set, Zverev once again seized control from Nada, winning six of the last seven games from 2–0 down to complete his victory in three hours and five minutes.
It was a fantastic competition, full of drama, quality and tension. Of course, the only shame is that such a high-profile competition took place so early in the fairy fortnight.After the match, Nadal was given a proper send-off by the fans, who chanted his name for several minutes, before he picked up the microphone to address them as to his future plans.
"The amount of emotions I have felt on this amazing court throughout my tennis career is incredible," Nadal said. “I never dreamed I'd be here at almost 38, with all the success I've had here, winning so many times – I'm something I never dreamed I would be.
“For me, it is difficult to say what will happen in the future. It's two percent that I won't come back to Roland-Garros, but I can't say 100 percent."I enjoy playing here, I love traveling with the family, and my body feels a little better than it did two months ago."
