Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat his great rival Roger Federer on his favorite surface to reach the French Open final.
The 11-time French Open champion pushed aside the 20-time Grand Slam winner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 for the sixth straight time on the Paris clay in the most heavyweight match of the tournament on Friday.
“The condition out there today have been so hard, so difficult to manage,” said the 33-year-old Nadal after the match.
”It was the day to be just focused, accept all the adversities and just be focused on positives all the time. That’s what I tried to do”, he added.
Federer, 37, failed to hold on to his 2-0 lead in the second set which could have been a turning point in this match.
“Definitely the biggest regret is to get broken at 2-0 love with the wind in my back,” said Federer.
“If I can avoid that one, maybe the second set turns out to be different”, he added.
“He makes you feel uncomfortable the way he defends the court and plays on clay. There is nobody who even plays remotely close to him,” Federer said.
Nadal beats Federer to reach French Open final
