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Rafael Nadal reached his thirteenth Roland Garros semi-final early on Wednesday with a straight sets win over the Italian teenager Jannik Sinner but he claimed it was “dangerous” to finish at 1:30 in the morning when the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees (53F).
Nadal, the 12-time champion, defeated the 19-year-old Sinner 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1 for a 98th victory in his 100th match at the French Open.
Next, he will face Diego Schwartzman, the diminutive Argentine over whom he has a 9-1 career lead, as he approaches matching Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20 majors.
However, Nadal, more used to the bright Majorcan sun than the autumn chill of a French Open delayed four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, was not happy with the organizers who scheduled five matches on the Philippe Chatrier main court.
“I know that footballers play in these conditions, but they are constantly on the move,” Nadal said after the final final match of the tournament.
“We stop, we go back, we stop in the changes. I think this is a little dangerous for the body with these harsh conditions.”
Nadal and Sinner only arrived on the court at 10:30 p.m. after Schwartzman and Thiem took five hours to decide their quarterfinals.
They also had to wait for another women’s round of 16 tie to be completed after two others had started the program.
The scant, trembling crowd that greeted them wore thick coats, scarves, and hats.
“I don’t know why they gave Chatrier five games. It’s a risk,” added Nadal, 34, who ended his press conference at 02:10.
Nadal will play a 34th semi-final in the majors.
He leads Schwartzman 9-1 in that match, although the Argentine won his most recent clash in Rome on the eve of Roland Garros.
Sinner, the world number 75, who aims to become the first man to reach the semifinals on his debut since Nadal in 2005, was left to mourn the missed opportunities.
He led with breaks in the first two sets, even being only two points away from taking the opener.
Nadal admitted that he had been in a different competition than his first four games, where he lost only 23 games.
“It was very tough during the first two sets and especially at the end of the first.
“He was hitting the ball really hard and in the cold, the balls had less lift.”
Sinner has been inclined to be in the top 10 in the world next season, but said he doesn’t look too far into the future.
“I am a person who does not look to the future or to the past, always in the present,” said the Italian who had passed two seeds to reach the round of 16: 11 seed David Goffin and sixth seed Alexander. Zverev, runner-up at the US Open.
Argentine 12th seed Schwartzman defeated US Open champion and third seed Thiem in an epic five hours to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
28-year-old Schwartzman triumphed 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
It was one more marathon for Thiem, the runner-up in Paris for the past two years, who had needed five sets and three and a half hours to defeat world number 239 Hugo Gaston in the fourth round.
Schwartzman’s 5-foot-7-inch (1.70m) success came on the same day that her compatriot Nadia Podoroska, the world number 131, reached the women’s singles quarter-finals.
“Dominic is one of the great players. He is my best friend and I have a lot of respect for him,” Schwartzman said.
“So this win is very important to me. In the second and third sets, I was going a little crazy and was yelling at myself because I had so many chances.
“But come on, he deserved to win tonight,” added Schwartzman.
Thiem had tried to reach a fifth consecutive semi-final in Paris.
However, despite adding 65 winners to his opponent’s 47, he made 81 unforced errors in a game that featured 19 service breaks and at five hours and eight minutes was the second longest of the tournament.
“Today I exceeded the limit,” Thiem said.
“On the net I told him he deserved it. I think for the first time he’s in the top 10 with that win.
“That is also a great achievement.”
Results of the French Open at Roland Garros on Tuesday, the 10th day of the delayed 2020 championship (the x denotes the seeded player):
mens
Quarter finals
Diego Schwartzman (ARG x12) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT x3) 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) over Jannik Sinner (ITA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1
Woman
Fourth round
Danielle Collins (USA) Bt Ons Jabeur (TUN x30) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Quarter finals
Iga Swiatek (POL) bt Martina Trevisan (ITA) 6-3, 6-1
Nadia Podoroska (ARG) v Elina Svitolina (UKR x3) 6-2, 6-4
