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June 3 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal moved on to the French Open men's final Friday after his opponent, third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, was forced to retire because of an ankle injury. The 36-year-old Nadal was locked in a tight semifinal match with Zverev when the German ran to chase a shot and twisted his right ankle. Zverev tumbled to the ground at Court Philippe Chatrier and immediately clutched at his lower leg as he wailed in agony.
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Covered in rust-colored clay from the court, Zverev was eventually helped up by a trainer and taken away in a wheelchair. Shortly later, he came back out onto the court on crutches and conceded the match, which was still in the second set.
The sudden end to the three-hour contest allowed the fifth-seeded Nadal to become the second-oldest male finalist in French Open history.
He will attempt to become the oldest champion at the tournament -- which he has already won a record 13 times -- in Sunday's final against first-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud.
"Only thing that I can say is I hope he's not too bad," Nadal said of Zverev. "Hopefully it's just the normal thing when you turn your ankle, and hopefully nothing [is broken]. That's what everybody hopes.
"Even if for me it's a dream to be in the final of Roland Garros, of course that way is not the way that we want it to be. ... If you are human, you should feel very sorry for a colleague."
Nadal won the first set by a 7-6 (8) margin after about 1 1/2 hours. The second set also was headed to a tiebreaker after another 1 1/2 hours of action when Zverev fell behind the baseline and lost a point that allowed Nadal to hold serve for 6-all.
A medical trainer then came onto the court and attended to Zverev, and Nadal walked around the net to check on him. After the 25-year-old German said he needed to retire from the match, he shook the chair umpire's hand and hugged Nadal.
The eighth-seeded Ruud, meanwhile, became the first man from Norway to reach a major final after his 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic on Friday in a match that was interrupted for more than 10 minutes in the third frame by a climate activist who attached herself to the net.
The 23-year-old Ruud has never faced Nadal in his career, but he trained at the Spaniard's academy in Mallorca.
"He's a perfect example of how you should behave on court: never give up and never complain. He's been my idol for all my life," Ruud said of Nadal. "I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait to finally play him in a Grand Slam final."
Sunday's final between Nadal and Ruud is scheduled for 9 a.m. EDT.
The French Open women's final between No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek and 18th-seeded Cori "Coco" Gauff is set for Saturday at 9 a.m. EDT.
