 "French Open 2024: Rafael Nadal braces for emotional farewell with powers fading")
Rafael Nadal might not add to his record haul of 14 French Opens , which gets underway on Sunday, but he will still comfortably be one of the big tickets for Monday or Tuesday, win or lose.
The 22-time major champion, whose career twilight has been darkened by injuries since January last year , will play the tournament for the last time.
Now ranked a lowly 276, he’s played just 20 matches in the last 20 months with a 9-11 win-loss record. The Spaniard missed nearly all of 2023 after hurting his hip during the Australian Open in January. He had surgery almost exactly a year ago and sat out the French Open , for the first time since making his debut in 2005, when, naturally, he claimed the trophy at age 19.
This year, a torn hip muscle in January forced Nadal to miss the Australian Open ; an abdominal problem sidelined him later. He returned in April, but at three tournaments where he’s won a total of 27 titles — Barcelona, Madrid, Rome — Nadal made no further than the fourth round.
The southpaw has expressed years of humility around his chances at the French Open, where he’s won even with his left foot anaesthetized to numb the pain caused by Mueller-Weiss syndrome. This year, though, seems a time when not even Rafa truly believes it is possible.
At the Italian Open, as he was trounced by Hubert Hurkacz, Nadal wondered aloud whether he should even bother showing up at Roland Garros , although he did say he was reluctant to skip “the most important event of my tennis career.”
It wasn’t even certain Nadal would play the tournament, despite having been practising all week on-site , until his name went into the draw. “I am not negative,” he’s explained. “I am just realistic.”
“I cannot predict what kind of emotions I am going to have there,” said Nadal, who has been saying for a while that he thinks 2024 will be his final season before retirement. “I just want to enjoy every day.”
The 37-year-old, who turns 38 on 3 June, is unable to run at full speed or compete with full force. He does not have the match readiness required to succeed at this level.
Just to reassure the fans: Rafael Nadal has won a practice set with Daniil Medvedev 6-3 yesterday 💪pic.twitter.com/5hLoae1W8w
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) May 24, 2024
“Rafa is filled with all these question marks. Is he fit enough? Is the foot allowing him to move the way he wants? Is the hip allowing him to put as much speed as he wants? Is he as fast as he was? Or is he in pain?,” said Somdev Devvarman in a media interaction organised by Sony Network.
“The thing that there’s no question about are his competitiveness, his desire, his will. But unfortunately at 37, the body is not allowing him to do the things he wants to do,” he added.
And yet, Nadal is someone not many players want to play at the French Open. Or at least as early as the first round for fourth seed Alexander Zverev .
“It’s really a paramount challenge to play him in Roland Garros," said defending French Open champion Novak Djokovic , whose 24 majors make him the only man with more than Nadal. “He’s an incredible athlete. The tenacity and intensity he brings on the court, particularly there, is something that was very rarely seen, I think, in the history of this sport.”
Rafa is back on Court Philippe-Chatrier, with a huge crowd to welcome him 🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/JBj5FMrsrN
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 20, 2024
“I’m not shy to say I’m happy it’s not me playing against him first round,” admitted fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev on Friday, a day after practising with Nadal.
Medvedev warned Zverev that Nadal is far from a fading force. “There’s a lot of hard work, a lot of mental effort. Sometimes people forget he has a lot of talent in his hands also,” said the Russian.
“We were warming up serves and then he did three in a row, volley, dropshots, banana ones, with backspin, and it was funny.”
"thanks" 😭 pic.twitter.com/2MjTsVxjrb
— i (@atpobsessed) May 24, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz, when asked if he would have liked to have faced his compatriot, kept it short and simple: “No (smiling). Honestly, no. When I saw that it was 50 percent chances that I could play against Rafa…Thanks,” he said to laughter in the room.
“He is still as strong as ever. If injuries leave him alone, he risks being very dangerous during the year if he manages to string together tournaments and matches,” said 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.
Despite Rafa’s injuries and form, everyone’s apprehension - unless being diplomatic or wishing to keep the vociferous Parisians behind them - of facing him appears valid. It is, after all, Nadal on clay. It is Nadal at Roland Garros. He boasts a legacy and record that is unlikely to be matched - ever.
The numbers do the telling: He is 112-1 in his initial matches on clay. He has had just three defeats from 115 matches in Paris (112-3!!). Between 2010 and 2015, he won 39 matches in a row at Roland Garros. He’s had streaks of five championships in a row, four in a row and three in a row. 63 of his 92 career titles have come on clay.
His legacy at the tournament is already set in stone: with a 3-metre statue near the entrance to the general public and the Jardin des Mousquetaires.
Looking to end this relationship will be Rome champion Alexander Zverev. The German, who will undergo trial from 31 May for allegedly assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2020, but is not required to be personally present in Berlin, instead has the challenge of Nadal in the first round. It is two years on from their semi-final meeting when ‘Sascha’ suffered a serious ankle injury, needed surgery and missed the rest of the season.
“Ideally, I would have liked to play him in the later stage of the tournament, but it is how it is now,” Zverev said . “He is unseeded this year. I am seeded. You know, it’s a tough draw, but it’s a tough draw for both of us.”
“To be very honest, I wanted to play Rafa again in my career, in his career,” said Zverev, “because I didn’t want my last memory of me playing against Rafa to be me leaving the court on a wheelchair.”
“In my mind, I’m going to play peak Rafa Nadal. That’s what I expect him to be. I expect him to be at his absolute best,” added Zverev who has a 3-7 head-to-head versus the Spaniard, losing five of six on clay.
Does Nadal have a chance? “Tough match. You would imagine that Zverev goes in as the favourite, especially after winning Rome. Zverev is playing very good tennis. No big weaknesses, many big strengths, comfortable playing Rafa, comfortable on a big court, comfortable in major matches,” said Devvarman.
“You always expect a dramatic match when it comes to Rafa. You expect him to fight. You expect him to give himself a chance to win, especially at Philippe Chatrier, his most successful court. It’s a popcorn match for the ages. Unbelievable career and sad we’ll see it come to an end. But I feel unbelievably grateful that we got to see it unfold right in front of our eyes as well.”
Even though the men’s field remains open with Djokovic going trophyless this season and injury concerns for Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner , Nadal remains the ticket to get for every fan coming through the turnstiles. He remains the player to watch - for fans and fellow players alike.
“He’s probably the only player that when I practice on the court next to him, I would literally zone out of my practice to watch him,” said Coco Gauff. “The way he carries himself is just great. His legacy is going to be something that is almost unmatched when it comes to just the intensity in which he approaches everything. That’s something that the players will miss and the fans will miss.”
Is this going to be au revoir to Roland Garros or will Nadal come back, somehow, for the Summer Olympics remains to be seen. But what is certain is that lengthy standing ovations await. Post-match ceremonies too. Maybe requests to get his shirt or take a photo. And it is all deserved for quite easily the greatest French Open and clay court champion EVER.
Watch Roland Garros 2024 from 26th May 2024, 2:30 PM IST onwards, LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).
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