Rafael Nadal came out strong and determined never leaving the winner of his
Roland Garros semifinal match in doubt.
Rafael Nadal played the first of two Roland Garros semifinals against
Diego Schwartzman and he did what many expected he would. The match which lasted a little over two and a half hours showcased Nadal in his best against an exhausted Schwartzman whom he beat 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(0). The start of the match delivered quite a bit of early actions to the delight of fans in attendance. Nadal broke Diego immediately to take a 2-0 lead but the Argentinian came back strong to break Nadal back. He could not withstand the Spaniard in the next game with Nadal taking the lead once more.
From there both players played rather well and held their serve but the damage was already done and Nadal cruised to a 6-3 1st set victory. Despite the respectable score, the set lasted over an hour highlighting the long rallies which were being played. Schwartzman tried to be aggressive but he had too many errors (15) to do any real damage. The 2nd set saw a drop off in the level of Diego but also that of Nadal. The Spaniard pulled back waiting out the storm. Initially, it worked as he took an early break which he maintained throughout the set.
He added one more in the final game to clinch the set 6-3. Schwartzman wasn't as aggressive as in the first set as his exhaustion was slowly starting to show. Nadal didn't force it either understand what was happening. The 3rd set continued in a similar manner with Nadal playing a smart brand of tennis taking advantage of the weakness displayed by Schwartzman. Diego lacked the ferociousness he had in Rome which gave him the victory.
He showed a bit of fight midway through the final set but it didn't last long as Nadal took control of the match once again ending it in the tie-break of the fourth set. It was a strong display against an exhausted opponent which still gave him a good fight but Nadal won't care much as he is through to yet another Roland Garros final.