Nadal
On October 9, the 13th matchday of the French Open will be contested for the men's singles semi-finals, with Nadal playing Schwartzman and Djokovic facing Tsitsipas.
Nadal vs Schwartzman
At 20:50 Beijing time, the No. 2 seed Nadal will face the 21st seed Schwartzman. Since 2005, Nadal has won the French Open 12 times. Schwartzman defeated Nadal in two straight sets at the Rome Masters before the French Open and was hailed as the strongest 1m7 on the surface. It was Schwartzman's first time in the final four of a Grand Slam.
Nadal and Schwartzman have met 10 times before, with Nadal winning 9 and losing 1, with the only loss being the recent Rome Masters. Nadal has previously lost to just two men at the French Open, swede Soderling and Djokovic Djokovic, and if Schwartzman wins tonight, he will be the third player to beat Nadal at Roland Garros.
The upcoming semi-finals will be Nadal and Schwartzman's sixth meeting on clay, with the first five of Nadal winning 4 and losing 1. It was also the fourth meeting between the two sides in a Grand Slam. Nadal and Schwartzman have met in the 2018 French Open quarter-finals, when Nadal conceded one set and then won three in a row, as well as at the US Open and Australian Open.
Schwartzman
The last time a non-European qualified for the French Open final was in 2005, when Argentina's Puerta reached the final but lost to Nadal, the first time Nadal won the French Open. But after the game, Puerta was found to be positive for the second time.
On the way to the French Open, Nadal spent 10 hours and 4 minutes, while Schwartzman fought in singles and doubles for 16 hours and 48 minutes, playing 5 singles and 2 doubles, of which 13 hours and 34 minutes were singles.
Nadal looked ahead to the final, saying that Roma's runner-up made Schwartzman very confident, he had beaten me before, which would further strengthen his confidence. I want to play as well as I can, attack more aggressively, and play a completely different performance than Roma. Schwartzman said that the victory over Thiem was perfect, and after two days off, he had fully recovered, and it was very important to believe that he could beat Nadal this week.
Djokovic
Djokovic vs Tsitsipas
In the quarter-finals, Xiaode overcame injury reversal to defeat Spain's Busta, while Greece's Tsitsipas defeated Russia's Rublev, who had recently performed well. This is the first time that the 22-year-old Tsitsipas has reached the final four of the French Open, and he is trying to reach the final of a Grand Slam for the first time, while Xiaode is trying to reach the final of a Grand Slam for the 27th time.
The two have played each other five times before, and Xiaode wins 3 and loses 2. The two have previously met on clay, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the 2019 Madrid Masters final. The most recent meeting between the two sides was this year's Dubai final, where Xiaode won 6-3, 6-4 to win the title. The two have yet to meet in a Grand Slam match.
Looking forward to the semi-finals, XiaoDe said that the grand slam semi-finals are always exciting, and you will look forward to playing against the top five or top ten players in the world, which is what I hope, I hope to find the best state and play the best game. For Tsitsipas, Tsitsipas praised the opponent for being comprehensive, the serve and forehand were excellent, the backhand was also good, the offensive ability was also good, and the movement was also good.
Tsitsipas said I'm going to tell you that I'm not any of the next generation players, I'm an adult player now. We're young, that's why people call us that.
Tsitsipas
Two-time French Open champions American Correll and British star Henman have both expressed hope that the final will be between Nadal and Djokovic. If Nadal wins this year's French Open, he will not only win his 13th French Open, but also win the 20th Grand Slam title, equaling Federer's record, while Xiaode's goal is to win the 18th Grand Slam title. The historical record is close at hand, both Nadal and Xiaode are full of desire for victory, although Xiaode has some physical problems, he has withstood the test, strong will has always been the advantage of Xiaode, he can also find more effective ways to overcome all difficulties.
This year's French Open was played in the fall, the weather was colder, the pitch was wetter, the ball was changed, and it brought new challenges to many players, and the backhand of Nadal was more demanding. Of course, the two celebrities are also very happy for young players to advance to the final four, and look forward to the arrival of the historical moment.
There will also be two women's doubles semi-finals tonight, with Poland's Swatek, who has already reached the women's singles final first, partnering with Merichar of the United States.