Rafael Nadal: "It's dangerous to play in these conditions"

Before last night, former world number one Rafael Nadal had never finished a Roland Garros match so late, but in the end he still prevailed over our Jannik Sinner with a score of 7-6 6-4 6-1, detaching the pass for the semifinals.

The Spaniard will now face Diego Schwartzman, in the rematch of the match staged a few weeks ago in Rome.

Nadal's words at the press conference

In the post-match interview, Rafa immediately commented on the unusual playing time: "The problem is not that, but the temperature.

Now I have two days off, so there shouldn't be any major difficulties. It is not ideal to finish at half past one in the morning, but the problem is the cold. It is too cold to play tennis. I know that the players play in similar conditions but it is a different thing, because they always move while we stop, we leave, we stop again in the exchanges.

It is a sport in which we stop many times. I believe it is dangerous for our body to play in these conditions. I really don't know why they decided to put five games on Central. The risk was there. When yesterday they sent me the order of play, I thought this could happen and it did.

It was a bit of bad luck but I tried to be patient and accept it, taking it in the best possible way." Nadal then talked about his performance in the tournament to date: “I have done everything right since I arrived.

I'm looking for the right way to get a good result. Now comes the hard part. It was a complex victory against a complicated opponent. This tells me that I am on the right path and that I have to improve many things." As anticipated, Rafa will now challenge the Argentine Diego Schwartzman: "He starts with a slight advantage", admitted the Spaniard, "because he beat me last time.

It is useless to hide it. It is the truth. The conditions are a bit more favorable for his type of game, but I have to find my way to look for options for victory. It's the semifinals and this is a difficult match. We must accept the challenge and face the match with serenity.

You have to look at the match in Rome to see what worked and what didn't, so as to solve the problems and go out on the pitch with clear ideas and always look for the solution. Today I ended the game with positive feelings and we must continue like this.

I will have my chances, but I will have to give my all and hope that everything goes well." Before the Internationals of Italy, Schwartzman had never managed to defeat the Majorcan. Up for grabs now is the final of Roland Garros, where Rafa has won twelve times out of twelve.