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Story of the match

Nadal led Zverev 6-3 in their previous meetings, but Zverev won three of their last four clashes, including one last year on clay in Madrid.

Having had an emotional and exhausting fight with Novak Djokovic in the previous round, he knew it was unlikely to be easy.

This proved as Zverev broke Nadal's serve in the opener, hardly a way to say Happy 36th birthday to the 13-time champion.

With the roof closed due to rain, conditions were heavier than usual, and as the set progressed, Nadal found it difficult to get his forehand, looking for a big spin to get the ball high but often seeing it fall in Zverev's wheelhouse.

The German was serving very well, keeping Nadal in a bind and stepping into his +1 shot, shooting winners on both sides. He moved ahead 4-2 but Nadal stopped 4-4 as Zverev stumbled, a double fault when he was going for a big second serve betraying his nerves.

At 5-4, Nadal had three set points but Zverev bravely saved them, continuing to attack. The two men then held on to force a tiebreaker and Zverev rose clear, giving himself four set points at 6-2.

It was then that Nadal woke up in the previous round when he knocked down Djokovic in a four-hour epic. Zverev missed a shot by an inch and Nadal produced two stunning assists and tied at 6-6.

At 7-6, Nadal earned a fourth set point but could not stand it. At 8-7, he had another but could not stand it. Finally, at 9-8, he came up with another great front pass on the run to take it.

Zverev looked emotionally overwhelmed as he sat in his chair as Nadal left the court to change clothes and when Nadal broke in the opening game of the second set, it felt like the match was almost over.

Nadal tried to put his foot down, and became more aggressive but was missing and broke Zverev.

A rally of 44 shots, won when Zverev missed a backhand, put Nadal in front again but again, it was broken as the set reached 2-2.

Since then, the second set has become a strange affair, with mistakes from both men with both struggling to keep serving, especially Nadal.

Zverev broke 4-2 only to double the error and deliver the break. The German then broke Nadal for the fourth time in a row to go up 5-3. But serving for the set, he started with a double fault and although he led 30-15, he hit two more double faults to allow Nadal to come back again.

Finally, Nadal held serve for the first time, raising his arms up as he put a shot away to level at 5-5.

Nadal then found another brilliant forehand pass to go up 0-30 but Zverev held on and it was Nadal's turn to hold on, which he did, but when he snatched the match, it was Zverev's cry that caught everyone's attention.

The German could not put any weight on his right foot and left the field but the match was inevitably over. He returned to the field on crutches and the game ended.