Tag: Nadal

Rafael Nadal said he will make a decision on his future in tennis “after the Olympics” in the aftermath of a shattering straight-sets defeat to old rival Novak Djokovic at the Paris Games.

“When this tournament is over, I will take the necessary decisions based on my feelings and desire,” said Nadal, after losing 6-1, 6-4 in his 60th career meeting with Djokovic.

Nadal, playing in just his seventh tournament of the year after another campaign disrupted by injuries, admitted that at 38 he did not “have the legs of 20 years ago”.

The Spaniard, a gold medallist at the Olympics in singles in 2008 and doubles at Rio eight years later, won the last of his 22 Grand Slam titles when he captured a 14th French Open in Paris in 2022.

His ranking, which once stood proudly at number one, has slumped to 161 in the world.

In May, he suffered his first ever opening-round loss at the French Open and then skipped Wimbledon to focus on the Olympics.

“For many people it makes little sense, I have been suffering for two years,” added Nadal who described Monday’s loss as “tough”.

“If I feel that I am not competitive I will make the decision to stop. I just try my best every single day, trying to enjoy a thing that I have been enjoying for so much time.

“I have been suffering a lot of injuries the last two years. So if I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going or physically I’m not ready to keep going I will stop and let you know.”

Despite his defeat, Nadal still has hopes of a gold medal in the men’s doubles where he is playing alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

Monday’s win was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic’s 31st in a rivalry which began on the same Roland Garros clay courts in 2006.

Nadal was largely outclassed in the much anticipated encounter, only coming briefly to life when he won four games in a row in the second set.

“I’m very relieved,” said Djokovic after the second round win. “Back in 2006, I don’t think we would have thought we would be playing against each other on the same court at the Olympics.”

Nadal conceded that Djokovic was the better player throughout the contest.

“Playing against Novak, without creating damage to him and without having the legs of, 20 years ago is, is almost impossible now.”

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In a sign of the wear and tear the pair have endured in recent months, Djokovic wore protective strapping around his right knee while Nadal’s right thigh was heavily strapped.

Djokovic raced to 4-0 lead, on the back of a double break, and held for 5-0 before Nadal stopped the rot much to the relief of a packed, sweltering crowd.

Djokovic pocketed the one-sided opener when Nadal ballooned a forehand wide of the mark.

The statistics made grim reading for Nadal who managed to eke out just four points off the Djokovic serve in the first set.

There was no respite as Djokovic again carved out a double break for a 4-0 lead in the second set.

Djokovic, seeking a first Olympic gold medal, surprisingly handed Nadal a lifeline when he served up a double fault to be broken for the first time.

Nadal retrieved the second break to claw his way back from 0-4 to 4-4 as the top seed went suddenly off the boil.

Djokovic responded in style, a drop-shot leaving Nadal flat-footed as the Serb broke for 5-4 on a fourth break point and clinched victory in style with an ace.

Rafael Nadal will skip Wimbledon in July to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris, which will be played on the clay courts at Roland Garros, the Spaniard  has posted on social media.

Nadal, a record 14-time winner of the French Open, has been far from his best after returning from injuries, and he exited the tournament at Roland Garros in the first round this year, losing in straight sets to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev.

The 38-year-old missed almost all of 2023 with a hip problem, and his comeback earlier this year was stalled by a muscle tear before minor injuries affected his preparation for the clay-court major.

“During my post-match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics,” Nadal said in his post.

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“With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the championships this year at Wimbledon.

“I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.”

Nadal, who won an Olympic singles gold medal in 2008 and a doubles gold in 2016, will team up with newly crowned French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz to play in the doubles at the Olympics.

A two-time champion at Wimbledon, Nadal said he would continue his preparations for the Olympics by playing in the ATP 250 clay-court event in Bastad, Sweden, that starts July 15.

The Paris Olympics run from July 26 through Aug. 11.

Rafa Nadal crashed to his earliest exit at the French Open after a 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 first-round defeat by fourth seed Alexander Zverev, with fans wondering if the 14-times champion will return to the Grand Slam he has ruled for two decades.

The 22-times major champion, who won the Musketeers’ Cup for the first time in 2005 and last raised the trophy in 2022 before a serious hip injury derailed his career, had previously said this year could be his final one on the tour.

Having returned to the tournament that he skipped in 2023 and refusing to confirm any farewells ahead of his opener, Nadal showed flashes of top form again on Court Philippe Chatrier but the 37-year-old ultimately went down fighting.

“I’m not 100% sure if it’s the last time but I enjoyed it, the crowd were amazing during the whole week of preparation and today,” Nadal said as the crowd rose to their feet.

“The feelings today are difficult to describe with words but it’s special to feel the love in the place I love the most.

“I enjoy playing a lot and travelling with the family. The body is feeling better than two months ago. Maybe in two months I say it’s enough. But it’s something I don’t feel yet.”

Victory meant Zverev became only the third man to beat Nadal at Roland Garros, after Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling, with the German also banishing memories of his retirement due to an ankle injury when the duo last met in the 2022 semi-finals.

“I don’t know what to say… thank you Rafa from all of the tennis world, it’s such a great honour,” Zverev said. “I’ve watched Rafa play all my childhood and I was lucky enough to play him twice on this beautiful court.”

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Nadal was broken by in-form Rome champion Zverev in the opening game and surrendered his serve again late on to drop the first set in unfavourable conditions for him with the roof closed due to heavy rain earlier.

Faced with the prospect of only his fourth Roland Garros defeat in 116 matches, Nadal made a positive start to the next set as he leapt and pumped his fists after holding for 2-2 and broke for the first time with a delicate drop.

The crowd began to sense a comeback as Nadal went ahead 4-2 with some vintage shots on both flanks but the steely Zverev hit back in the 10th game and saved two breakpoints before doubling his advantage by edging a high-octane tiebreak.

Watched on by his great rival Djokovic and a host of other current players, Nadal surged to a 2-0 lead in the third set but squandered it as Zverev drew level and dealt another body blow in the seventh game.

The boisterous crowd tried their best to roar Nadal on but Zverev held his nerve to clinch a famous victory that could well prove to be the springboard he needs to push for an elusive first Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal has again cast doubt on a farewell appearance at this year’s French  Open, insisting that his involvement is not dependent on whether he believes he can win the event. 

The 14-time champion returned to action in Barcelona earlier this month after suffering another hip issue at his comeback tournament in January following a year out.

He exited the competition in the second round but has bounced back at the Madrid Open, where he avenged his defeat by Alex De Minaur in Catalonia with a straight-sets win on Saturday.

But in spite of his positivity after coming through the physical test, the 37-year-old refused to confirm whether he’ll make what is expected to be his last appearance at the French Open next month.     

“No idea,” He said after his victory over De Minaur. “Over the last few days my body feelings have improved a little bit but I’m not sure yet.

“I understand sometimes it’s difficult to understand some things but for me Roland-Garros is the most important tournament of my tennis career and all the things I’ve lived and enjoyed there stay in my heart forever. 

“It’s not a thing about losing or winning, it’s about going on court there with a feeling that I can fight and I can be competitive, you know, let’s go on court and dream about what can happen.   

“If I’m not able to go on court and dream, even if it’s the minimum percentage, for me it doesn’t make sense to go court. 

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“I’d prefer to stay with all the amazing memories that I have.”

Even though doubt has been cast on a Philippe Chatrier swansong, Nadal recently revealed that he intends to partner fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics this summer. 

For now, he continues at the Madrid Open, hoping to build on a positive return from injury with a round of 32 clash against Pedro Cachin.  

“It’s very important for me to be able to compete for the whole match with a good level of tennis with my body holding up well for a little bit over two.”

He added, reflecting on his win. 

“It was very important for me. That was great test and now let’s see how I wake up tomorrow. So super happy. 

“I will never have the chance to thank all the people here in Madrid enough for everything that they’ve given to me during my whole career. It was a very emotional one.”

Rafael Nadal made light work of Flavio Cobolli on a triumphant return from injury at the Barcelona Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion had not played an ATP Tour match since January but dispatched the Italian 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes yesterday to reach the second round.

Nadal, 37, was able to play on clay for the first time since winning the French Open in 2022 and showed flashes of his usual brilliance in a solid display.

“It was a good start – when you return you can’t get rid of the doubts in one day, above all, on a physical level,” Nadal told TVE. “Within what it could be, it was a good first round. He made mistakes and I think I played the game that I had to play.”

Nadal who has triumphed at Roland Garros a record 14 times, is hoping to play there in May in what he expects to be the final year of his professional career.

The clay court king, who missed most of 2023 injured, will face Alex de Minaur on Wednesday after breezing past Cobolli.

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“It will be at a speed that I don’t know if I will be able to keep up with, but I’ll try,” Nadal said of facing the 11th-ranked De Minaur.

After a double fault to fall 30-0 behind Nadal found his rhythm, with Cobolli intimidated by the fervent support for the Spaniard on the court named after him.

Nadal converted his third break point in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead, with Cobolli surviving four more to hold at 4-2 down.

The 12-time Barcelona Open winner broke again to claim the set in 43 minutes, clenching his fist in celebration.

Cobolli handed Nadal a break for 2-0 in the second set with two more unforced errors but finally put some pressure on Nadal’s serve in the third game to break back.

However Nadal broke again for 3-1 after Cobolli’s third double fault and served it out to triumph.

The Spaniard did not produce any aces and his serve was effective but not explosive.

“I’ve gone months without being able to serve, (and) although I’ve got a lot of excitement to play here and do the best I can, I’m not going to go crazy with the serve,” added Nadal.

“I have to serve with caution that the moment I’m in dictates… there are moments in which I feel more liberated and others in which I’m more careful.”

Rafael Nadal’s championship point winning racket from his 2007 French Open final victory over Roger Federer was sold for more than $118,000 at an auction , ranking among the highest-priced such memorabilia.

Nadal beat Federer 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the 2007 final in Paris to win his third Grand Slam title before the Spaniard moved on to secure a further 19 – 14 of them at Roland Garros – becoming one of the sport’s greatest players.

The racket, which Nadal also used in previous matches of the tournament, including his semi-final victory against Novak Djokovic, sold for $118,206 at an online auction, Prestige Memorabilia’s The Tennis Auction that closed on Monday at 0255 GMT.

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It was previously housed in the Australian Tennis Museum prior to its recent closure.

It became the third most valuable tennis racket behind Nadal’s 2022 Australian Open racket auctioned at $139,700 and Billie Jean King’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’ racket sold for $125,000.

Nadal missed the recent Australian Open this month after suffering a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International earlier in January.

The 37-year-old, however, is set to return on the court in February during the ATP 250 tournament in Doha.