Nadal beats Federer to reach 12th French Open final
Organizers must have been relieved the predicted rain in Paris stayed away but Mother Nature intervened in another way Friday, whipping up a huge breeze that caused havoc in the dynamic duo’s 39th meeting. Nadal is considered an excellent wind player — and the record 11-time French Open champion had never lost to Federer at Roland Garros on his favored clay in five previous duels. That didn’t change although just like in the majority of their tussles here, Federer created opportunities. He led, for example, 2-0 in the second set, then threatened but couldn’t break Nadal at 4-3, and was broken from 40-0 at 4-4. Visit CNN Sport for more news and videosIt was still a successful return to Roland Garros for the 20-time major winner after he skipped the past three editions. Nadal will face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or 2018 finalist Dominic Thiem on Sunday.
