Rafael Nadal: “I don’t want to force myself to say that it is my last 100% Roland Garros” | ATP Tour

Roland Garros

Nadal: “I don’t want to force myself to say that it is my last Roland Garros 100%”

The Spaniard makes his debut in 1R in this edition against the No. 4 favorite Zverev

May 25, 2024

Rafael Nadal is preparing to play Roland Garros, but who knows if this may not be the last one he plays in his career. This is, at least, what emerges from the speech he gave this Saturday at the press conference prior to its premiere next Monday in front of Alexander Zverev at the Philippe Chatrier.

“I still think that there is a good chance that it will be my last Roland Garros, but I don’t want to force you to tell you: It is 100% my last Roland Garros,” he acknowledged to the media before facing his nineteenth participation in Paris.

“Whether they have to pay me a tribute on the track or not, I sincerely believe that something natural will come out with the public and I don’t necessarily have to close the door to what may happen in the future, for the simple fact that I don’t it is necessary. If I don’t come back to play, I will come back to do what needs to be done, without having to play,” added the fourteen-time tournament champion.

Nadal comes to this edition of Roland Garros with eleven matches played this season, with a record of 7-4. In Brisbane he achieved his best result, appearing in the quarterfinals, while the Mutua Madrid Open was the stage where he was able to achieve the most victories (3) to reach the round of 16.

And now he is preparing for the tournament where he has had the most success in his career. “I am happy doing what I do, my body is evolving well, better than I expected a month and a half ago,” she warned. “I’m not training with too much pain. The limitations that I have felt week after week somehow took away my hope of continuing because I didn’t see a future that made any sense, but this week I have few limitations. If that lasts over time, I can continue to be competitive, I think.”

Faced with this situation, Nadal has changed his perspective regarding the most recent past. “The reality is that I don’t want to be left with the feeling of saying: Well, I’m retiring and I’ve tried… what? A week with optimal conditions? ”He asked rhetorically.

“I don’t want to be left with the doubt of saying: “Well, I haven’t played for two years, I’ve had a tough operation, a very long recovery, I’ve been injured again… maybe in a month or four days or so.” After two months I get injured again and it’s not worth it. Today I feel a little different, but experience tells me that there are many options for this to happen again,” he concluded about his medium-term future.

The reality is that the Spaniard debuts this Monday in Paris against the current champion from Rome. He will do so after a positive week of training in which he has been able to show himself competitive against the best players in the world on French clay.

“This tells me that I am not that far away,” he said. “I am not a person who usually deceives myself, I am quite realistic and critical of myself, I am being competitive in all training sessions against good people. Thats the reality. It is the first week that I feel free to be able to play thinking about the ball and little else, I had been thinking for a long time about what movement I can make and that has weighed me down a lot.”

The Spaniard reflects impressive data in the statistics he records in the Grand Slam on clay. So much so that of the 115 games he has played in his career in the French capital, he has only lost three of them.

“I have been feeling different for a week or so and that excites me to be able to compete and whatever may happen, I am aware that it is a utopia, but if I did not have a minimum of hope that I can really play well, I would not be here,” He stated before facing his duel against Zverev. “A priori time is insufficient, reality will be seen.”