Nadal and Zverev are facing off in the first of the two men’s semi-finals at the French Open, and are having to play under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier thanks to the rain in Paris. But both players have been troubled by the conditions, with their hands becoming too sweaty to grip their respective racquets as a result.
And the 13-time champion could be seen using a unique tactic to give himself more grip, reaching into a bag of sawdust and rubbing it on his hands to get rid of the sweat. It came after a conversation with the umpire, in which Nadal said he was “trying” to go faster in between points while needing to wipe his hands after every point.
Zverev had already suffered as a result of the sweaty conditions, accidentally throwing his racquet mid-point as it flew out of his hands to give Nadal a break point as the 25-year-old was serving at 4-3.
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