Nadal crushes Federer to reach 12th French Open final
Paris: Rafael Nadal reached the French Open final for the third time in a row, and a record extending 12th overall, with a straight set win over arch-rival Roger Federer, here on Friday.
The Spaniard beat the Swiss legend 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at the Philippe-Chatrier Court in the 39th meeting between the two stalwarts.
While Federer was playing the French Open for the first time since the 2015 edition, it was Nadal who re-established himself as the best player in the world on clay court after a brief slump due to injuries.
The 11-time champion will now face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem who will clash in the other semifinal later in the day.
It was a windy day in Paris and despite water being poured on the court to keep the clay down, the wind kept kicking up the dust. Nadal raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set before Federer fought back with a hold and a break to make it 3-2. Nadal responded by breaking back and then went on to win the next two games to pocket the set.
Federer took a 2-0 lead in the second set as Nadal struggled to adjust to the dust that was being blown due to the wind, but soon levelled up the set. It was an even contest until 4-4 before Nadal broke Federer and then served out the set.
The third was a more one-sided affair, although Federer did initially take a 1-0 lead. His next win in the set, however, came only to delay Nadal's victory as the Swiss held his serve at 5-2. Nadal eventually served for the match and raised his arms to soak in the applause from the crowd at the Philippe-Chatrier Court.
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Air quality worsens in city, AQI settles in 'severe' zone
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi battled toxic fumes on Sunday as the air quality slipped into the 'severe category with a reading of 459, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
A thick layer of smog blanketed the city overnight, leaving people gasping for air.
As per the CPCB, an Air Quality Index (AQI) between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.
On the weather front, the minimum temperature settled at 8.2 degrees Celsius, 0.4 notch below the season's average, and the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 24 degrees Celsius.
The relative humidity was 100 per cent at 8.30 am, the IMD said.
In light of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Delhi Directorate of Education on Saturday directed all schools to conduct classes for students up to Class IX and XI in a hybrid mode
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked Stage-IV actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) with immediate effect to curb further worsening of air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
