Rafael Nadal defeated the Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets and will go for his eleventh French Open title against the Austrian Dominic Thiem, who defeated the surprise of the tournament, the Italian Marco Cecchinato.
The Spanish player secured his place in the final with an undeniable 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory in two hours and fourteen minutes. While the first set was heavily contested and was not resolved until Nadal broke in the tenth game, in the other two sets the Argentine player couldn't find any answers against the intensity and precision of the world number one.
On the other hand, Thiem's climb towards the top of world tennis continued on Friday with his qualification for the final of the French Open after defeating Cecchinato 7-5, 7-6(10), 6-1.
Thiem, the seventh seed, became the first Austrian to reach a Grand Slam final since Thomas Muster won the French Open in 1995.
Cecchinato, ranked 72 in the world, displayed his fearless game and used all his weapons on the clay courts of Paris, but couldn't overcome the only player who has managed to defeat Nadal on his favorite surface this season.
At 24, Thiem is the youngest player to reach the final in Paris since Nadal, and he ended the match with a winning forehand on his first match point. Reuters.
The match between Juan Martín del Potro and Rafael Nadal will start at 8:30 am (Peruvian time) and will be broadcasted for Latin America through ESPN (504 Movistar, 612 DirecTV, and 64 Claro).
To qualify for the semi-finals, Del Potro, the sixth-ranked player in the world, defeated Marin Cilic (ranked 4th) 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, and 7-5 in three hours and fifty minutes of play. It is worth mentioning that the match ended on Thursday after being suspended on Wednesday due to rain.
"It's hard to talk now. I have no words to describe this moment. It's good for me, for my team, for my family," said a tearful Del Potro, who went through a long ordeal of injuries to return to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
"The Tower of Tandil" reaches the semi-finals of Roland Garros for the second time, after his first appearance in 2009, when he lost in five sets to the champion of that edition, Roger Federer.
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