13-time champion Nadal will face Germany’s Alexander Zverev, but it is clear that a prolonged leg injury has put him in debt.
“The last three-and-a-half months for me, the only thing I can say is it hasn’t been easy,” the Spaniard said after a four-set win over old rival Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
“But I have to keep going.”
Nadal, who is chasing a record 22nd Grand Slam title in front of Djokovic and Roger Federer, is working tirelessly to find a cure for his foot problem.
“If we can’t find an improvement or a small solution, it’s going to be very difficult for me.
“I’m just enjoying every day that I’ve had the chance to be here, and without thinking too much about what might happen in the future.
“I will continue to struggle to find a solution, but for the time being, we haven’t.”
Nadal’s victory over defending champion and world number one Djokovic was the 110th victory of his 17-year Roland Garros career.
They have worked hard on their resources to reach their 15th semi-final in the French capital.
It took them four hours and 21 minutes to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassim in a tie in the fourth round, which extended them to five sets for only the third time in the tournament.
Against Djokovic, he needed four hours and 12 minutes, saving two set points in the fourth set to avoid another five-setter.
Djokovic is responsible for two of Nadal’s three losses at the French Open.
With his career-long rival out of the way, and world number two Daniil Medvedev and fourth-placed 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the way, Nadal remains the favorite to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Against Zverev, he recorded a 6–3 win, capturing four of the pair’s five clay court meetings.
Zverev, 11 years younger than Nadal, is still looking for his first Slam title. She is in her second consecutive French Open semi-final.
He defeated teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, but had to save a match point in a five-set victory over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the second round.
They have never beaten Nadal or Djokovic in the majors.
Seeded third “I’m no longer 20 or 21; I’m 25. I’m at the stage where I want to win, I’m at the stage where I want to win.”
In Friday’s second semi-final, Marin Cilic will take on Casper Roode, both men making the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the first time.
Cilic, 33, and 2014 US Open champion Nadal is only the fifth active player to reach the semi-finals of all four Slams alongside Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
Cilic, ranked 23rd in the world, is in his first semi-final in the majors since 2018, when he was runner-up to Federer at the Australian Open.
Rudd is the first Norwegian man to make it to the last four of a Slam in eighth place with the 23-year-old one of the on-form players on clay.
His testy quarter-final win over 19-year-old Holger Rune was his 65th on clay since the 2020 season. Seven of his eight titles have come on clay.
Roode has a 2-0 lead over Cilic, including his only meeting on the surface in Rome.
Former world number three Cilic defeated Medvedev in straight sets without a break point in the fourth round and seventh-placed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals with 33 aces and 88 winners.
Of his 20 career titles, only two have come on clay court, the most recent of which was in Istanbul in 2017.
Despite his surprising run in the last four, where he is comfortably the lowest seed left, Cilic is content to maintain a low profile.
“I don’t mind being in the highlights. I am trying to use my opportunities as much as I can to give my best in every match, every day during my career,” he said.
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