The chronic left foot injury has given Rafael Nadal such a tough time lately that the legendary tennis player has said he would ‘rather lose’ the French Open final if he gets a ‘new foot’ in exchange . Nadal, who reached his 14th Roland Garros final after an unfortunate ankle injury in the second set of the semi-final forced Alexander Zverev to withdraw, has been quite vocal about his injury since the start of this year .

“Without a doubt, I would prefer to lose the final,” said Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday. “My opinion does not change. A new foot would allow me to be happier in my daily life.”

Nadal, who will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final on Sunday in pursuit of his record 22nd Grand Slam and 14th French Open title, said winning tournaments give him temporary adrenaline, but for him to have a life healthy in front of him, he must get his feet back. injury quickly.

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“Winning is great and it gives you an adrenaline rush, but it’s temporary and then you have to live on.”

“I have a life ahead of me and in the future I would like to play sports with my friends. My happiness comes before any title,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, Nadal said it was only “human” of him to feel sympathy for Zverev after the injury that forced him out of the semi-final.

Tearful German world number three Zverev had to leave the pitch in a wheelchair after he fell at the end of the second set, which left him writhing and screaming in pain.

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When he returned to the Philippe Chatrier court on crutches to concede the match, the two men shared a warm embrace.

“If you’re human, you feel sorry for a colleague,” Nadal said.

Zverev was leading 7-6 (10/8), 6-6 after more than three hours of play at the time of the horror injury.

“It’s not easy to talk about it. I hope he’s not injured too badly, I hope he’s not broken,” Nadal said. “I was with him when he had the ultrasound.”

The match was played under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier, creating high humidity with 15,000 spectators.

However, Nadal said the court was not in bad shape.

“It was an accident, it was just a moment of bad luck.”

Nadal hailed Zverev’s performance as the German bid to become the first German to reach the final since Michael Stich in 1996.

“It was a very tough game. He was playing amazing and I know how much it means to him to win a Grand Slam.

“The conditions weren’t ideal for me. I had to do a lot of survival. The first set was a miracle but I was fighting.”

(With AFP inputs)