Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev Odds & Prediction – French Open Semifinals

• Rafael Nadal is looking for his 14th French Open title
• Alexander Zverev is looking for only his second career Grand Slam final, after the 2020 US Open
• Nadal leads their history 6-3, and is the favorite for Friday’s semifinal (9:00 am ET)

Rafael Nadal – whose 36th birthday is on Friday – was the survivor of the tough top quarter of the draw during the 2022 French Open.

Only he or pre-tournament favorite Novak Djokovic could reach the semifinal.

Nadal vs Zverev Odds

Odds as of June 2 at Caesars Sportsbook

Nadal eliminated Djokovic. But if he expected to meet young countryman Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal, Alexander Zverev had news for him. Nadal is now the heavy moneyline favorite at -330 to defeat Zverev in the semifinals as you can see in the odds above.

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Pressure Breakthrough for Zverev with Win Over Alcaraz

As well as Zverev has done in winning best-of-three events at the Masters 1000 and 500 level, he has always had his heart broken in Grand Slam tournaments.

At 25, and long thought to be one of the heir apparents to the “Big 3”, Zverev has only made one Grand Slam singles final. And that was nearly two years ago, at the 2020 US Open that was played behind closed doors.

He now has a chance to make his second. And he put himself in a positive position by defeating a player most thought thought he would lose to, Alcaraz.

His 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7) victory could easily have gone five sets. And at that point most would have put it down to another Grand Slam disappointment for the German.

But he showed a lot in that win. Now, he has to do it all over again.

Nadal vs Zverev Head-to-Head

Nadal Narrows Record With Djokovic to 29-30

For Nadal, the underdog in his 59th meeting with longtime rival Novak Djokovic, the late-night scheduling was not to his liking, as he’s publicly admitted.

But the atmosphere was electric despite the late hour. And on a day when Djokovic felt curiously flat, Nadal was … Nadal.

So far, the issues with his foot – which flare up just when he least wants them to – have been kept at bay. You suspect there’s a pharmacy’s worth of anti-inflammatories involved.

That the 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory took four hours, 12 minutes, that he didn’t even come into press until after 1:30 am and likely was still up as the sun rose is less of a factor at this stage.

That quarterfinal match was Tuesday. There are two full days before this Friday afternoon semifinal.

Nadal Leads Head-to-Head 6-3

These two have a rather curious history, for two players who have been the top five for the last few years.

This will be only the second time they have met in a Grand Slam tournament; the first was all the way back in 2017, in the third round of the Australian Open.

How to beat Nadal on clay???? Take the short balls on the rise and hope for the best 🙂 pic.twitter.com/1NfQcG75Bk

— Mischa Zverev (@ZverevMischa22) May 31, 2022

Nadal was down two sets to one before prevailing in five.

Zverev won three straight matches from 2019-21 – his only wins. But two of those came on indoor hard courts. The third, on clay, was at Nadal’s least-favorite clay-court venue in Madrid, where the altitude means quicker play.

Nadal leads 4-1 on clay, and is 2-0 in best-of-five matches.

Nadal vs Zverev Match History

Variables and Nerves

Generally, Nadal would be a favorite in this situation, every single time.

But Zverev threw a bit of a wrench into the scenarios when he played so impressively well against Alcaraz.

As well, Nadal has dealt with back-to-back marathons against Félix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16, and then Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Of the men left in the French Open singles, Holger, Rune, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev were all the world's No. 1 ranked junior

The only man left who was not? Rafael Nadal#getty pic.twitter.com/4fZ2XT50PE

— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) June 1, 2022

Just meeting Djokovic that (relatively) early in an event makes the energy management a challenge.

Still, if he can look that good against Djokovic, you’d expect him to also handle Zverev – especially with the prospect of either Marin Cilic or young Casper Ruud being the only thing that stands in the way of French Open title No. 14.

Best Bet: Both Players Win a Set (-135)

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