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Rafael Nadal Beats Roger Federer to Advance to 2019 French Open Final
June 7, 2019
Rafael Nadal will have the chance to win his 12th French Open title on Sunday after he beat Roger Federer in Friday's semi-final.
The No. 2 seed eased to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory as the pair dealt with windy conditions throughout at Roland-Garros.
Nadal will play the winner of Novak Djokovic's semi-final with Dominic Thiem in Sunday's final.
It took eight minutes for Nadal to hold his serve in the opening game, but he punished Federer for failing to convert a break point as he replied with a break in the following game on his way to a 3-0 lead.
As tennis coach Darren Cahill observed, the Swiss maestro was done no favours by the weather conditions:
He did manage to break back, though, hitting this superb volley along the way:
The 37-year-old's joy was short-lived, however, as Nadal regained his lead. After saving five break points, Federer finally succumbed when he shot into the net, and the set quickly followed.
Federer enjoyed the ideal start to the second set with a 2-0 lead after Nadal sent a backhand long, but once more the Spaniard offered an instant response:
Nadal broke again at 4-4 with a volleyed winner to put himself firmly in control of the contest, and the set was soon wrapped up.
From there, Federer faced an almost impossible task, as tennis writer Christopher Clarey illustrated:
The 33-year-old reinforced that point with his most comfortable set yet in the third, while a frustrated Federer had to be warned by the chair umpire for hitting a ball into the crowd.
There was little Federer could do to resist the King of Clay, who broke him twice more on the way to securing his place in Sunday's showpiece.