Rafael Nadal defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets and will seek his eleventh French Open tennis title against Austrian Dominic Thiem, who defeated the surprise of the tournament, Italian Marco Cecchinato.
The Spanish player secured his place in the final with an unstoppable 6-4, 6-1, and 6-2 victory in two hours and 14 minutes. While the first set was highly contested and was not resolved until Nadal broke in the tenth game, Del Potro was unable to find answers in the other two sets against the intensity and precision of the world number one.
Meanwhile, Thiem's climb to the top of the tennis world continued on Friday with his qualification for the French Open final after defeating Cecchinato 7-5, 7-6(10), and 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, the 72nd-ranked player in the world, displayed his fearless game and resorted to his full arsenal on the Parisian clay, but he could not overcome the only player who has been able to defeat Nadal this season on his favorite surface.
At 24 years old, Thiem is the youngest player since Nadal to reach the final in Paris, and he ended the match with a winning right shot on his first match point. Reuters.
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"Not long ago, I was close to not playing anymore," confessed Argentine Juan Martín del Potro, who took flight once again in a Grand Slam and this Friday faced Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Roland Garros.
Whatever happens, Del Potro will climb at least from sixth to fourth place in the world rankings thanks to this Roland Garros, something that is "unthinkable" for him. The player from Tandil, who broke down in tears after his match against Cilic, faces Friday's semifinal against Nadal with the serenity of someone who has fulfilled his duty.
The head-to-head matches against Nadal are more or less balanced. Five victories for the Argentine, compared to nine for the Spanish player. The only time they faced each other on clay was at the 2007 French Open, and that time it went in favor of the Mallorcan.
Rafael Nadal, 32 years old, will be present for the eleventh time in the semifinals of Roland Garros. Only Jimmy Connors at the US Open and Roger Federer at Wimbledon can boast of having reached the semifinals of the same Grand Slam tournament so many times.