Rafael Nadal reached his 30th grand slam final at the French Open after Alexander Zverev went down injured in the second set.
The German third seed retired injured from his semi-final against 13-time champion after badly rolling his right ankle.
Zverev twisted his ankle as he tried to retrieve a shot in the 12th game of the second set and screamed in pain before being taken off the court Philippe Chatrier in a wheelchair.
After receiving several minutes off the court treatment, he returned to the Philippe Chatrier arena on crutches to concede the match.
He was trailing Nadal 7-6(8) 6-6 in an enthralling battle when the match ended abruptly.
Nadal will now contest the French Open final looking for an unprecedented 14th title against either Marin Cilic or Casper Ruud.
Before his injury, Zverev and Nadal were locked in a draining battle.
The German, still without a grad slam, went toe to toe with the king of clay carving out winning opportunities but failed to avail any of them.
It was Nadal’s experience that brought him back from the brink in the first set tiebreak. Trailing 6-2, the Spaniard reeled off four consecutive points to stay in the set before taking the lead.
The toll of the first set showed on both men as neither could get a foothold in the second set, each earning multiple breaks to stay even.
Just when everyone thought they may see something special, the German rolled his ankle to draw curtain on the proceedings.
