Rafael Nadal has dropped more than a hint that this edition of the French Open, beginning today in Paris, may not be his last. At a news conference on Saturday evening, ahead of the season’s second Grand Slam, Nadal was in a jocular mood.
On Monday, the winner of 14 French Open titles meets Alexander Zverev. Given the Spaniard’s battle with fitness, breakdowns and not being able to string together a sequence of wins, the general impression was 2024 would be his last appearance at Roland Garros. “It’s a big, big chance this is going to be my last Roland Garros, but if I have to tell you 100 per cent, sorry, but I will not, because I cannot predict what’s going on. I hope you understand,” he told the media conference.
This was like a bombshell, as Nadal had been preparing for an exit from the tennis circuit. Rewind to the French Open of 2023, he had posted on social media 2024 would be his last year. After all, his fitness battles were big news. There is, indeed, a fresh twist in the tale now.
“I don’t want to 100 per cent close the door because of very simple things. First, I am enjoying playing tennis. Second, I am travelling with my family. And third, I was not able to explore yet how I will be able to play being more or less healthy, playing without limitation,” added Nadal.
All these words are like Nadal writing a new script, one filled with a fresh chapter. The general impression for all tennis fans was the 2024 French Open will be his last fling, then he would try and barge into the Paris 2024 Olympic main draw – singles plus doubles – and then sign off. He has already made emphatic pleas that he wants to team up with Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympics. Even as tennis fans were thinking about writing farewell pieces for Nadal, he has asked for the pause button to be pressed.
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“So, give me some time. Maybe in one month and a half I say, OK, it’s enough, I can’t keep going, but today, I cannot guarantee this is going to be the last one,” said Nadal.
The match-up against Zverev is a hard one but the Spaniard is not intimidated. He arrived in Paris with coach Carlos Moya and his entourage and has been at practice. “This is the first week since I came back playing tennis that I am able to run the proper way without having a lot of limitations. That’s encouraging. This place (Paris) is encouraging for me, a lot of times things happened that were difficult to imagine,” added Nadal at a packed press conference on Saturday night.
“If, in the bottom of my heart I don’t have any hope to have success here (Paris) and create a beautiful thing this year, I would not be here,” stressed Nadal.
Visuals of Rafa at practice at the Suzanne Lenglen Court saw around 10,000 fans line up. This was proof he is still a massive draw.
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