Rafael Nadal says battling through the pain of his foot injury makes reaching his 14th French Open final even more enjoyable.
Nadal missed a part of the 2021 season with a foot problem that has hampered him throughout most of his career, but returned to win the Australian Open in January.
That made him a 21-time grand slam winner, a record in men's tennis, and he now aims for his 22nd major at Roland Garros – a venue where he is a 14-time champion.
Casper Ruud or Marin Cilic will be the Spaniard's opponent in Sunday's final in Paris, after Alexander Zverev retired almost two sets into a gruelling semi-final on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Nadal on Friday.
The 36-year-old, who celebrated his birthday with semi-final victory, was quick to express his well wishes for Zverev both on the court and later in a news conference, with the German suffering an ankle injury.
Nadal is the third player in the Open era to reach 30 or more grand slam finals, after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (both 31), and he believes playing through the pain has been worth it.
"I explained everything going through my mind after Rome, and nothing changed," Nadal told reporters. "At the same time, I was not very positive after that about my foot, but I was positive that I will be able to play here.
"I played, I fought I did all the things possible to give myself at least a chance to be where I am and happy of course to be able to give myself another chance to play here in the final of Roland Garros.
"That means a lot to me. All the sacrifices and all the things that I need to go through to try to keep playing, really makes sense when you enjoy moments like I'm enjoying in this tournament.
"If you like what you are doing, you keep going. If you like to go and play golf, you keep going to play golf. If I like to play tennis and if I can and I can handle to keep playing, I keep playing because I like what I do.
"If I am healthy enough to play, I like the competition. I like to play in the best stadiums in the world and feel competitive at my age still.
"That makes me feel in some way proud and happy about all the work that we did."
Nadal led Zverev 7-6 (10-8) 6-6 before the world number three had to retire, though the encounter had lasted for over three hours by that point.
It was the third time in as many matches that Nadal has toiled on the clay in Paris, having overcome Djokovic in four sets after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set thriller.
Nevertheless, Nadal assures he is fit and fighting in preparation for the showpiece as he aims for a 14th French Open triumph.
"Physically I'm okay. Normally my problem is not the physical performance," he added. "Of course today the conditions have been very hot, super humid.
"I know from experience that when these conditions happen, I suffer a bit more physically. It happened to me in Australia against [Denis] Shapovalov.
"Today was different, not that crazy but I was suffering. There was a lot of up-and-downs during the match, but a good level of tennis with great points."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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