Credit: GEPA pictures/ ZUMA Press/ Matthieu Mirville
“There were too many problems too often.” Rafael Nadal looked sadly into the ground when he dropped the bomb in the tennis world at a hastily called press conference in Mallorca: The French Open will take place without their king for the first time in 19 years.
The record winner of Roland Garros only has the role of spectator due to a persistent injury. One’s sorrow, another’s joy. Due to Nadal’s withdrawal, Dominic Thiem slipped into the main field, which means that Austria’s tennis ace is spared the trouble of qualifying.
As number 91 in the world, Thiem, who was still in poor form, was the first player outside of the main field. The 29-year-old lost 6: 7 (5), 1: 6 to Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the round of 16 of the ATP Challenger in Bordeaux. In Paris, Thiem was in the final in 2018 and 2019, twice Nadal was a size too big.
2024 at the latest is the end for Nadal
With Nadal, Roland Garros loses the biggest attraction of recent years. He has won his favorite tournament in Paris 14 times over the past year despite chronic foot pain. This time, however, the Spaniard, who has been handicapped for months and was recently on a break after a tear in his hip flexor, is not going to be the end of it. However, speculation about Nadal’s retirement was not confirmed. However, Nadal emphasized that it will be over by 2024 at the latest. “Next year will be my last at professional level – that’s the idea,” said the 22-time Grand Slam winner. The former world number one has only played four games this season.
Before the second major of the year, the alarm bells are also ringing for Nadal’s great adversary for many, many years, Novak Djokovic. The top seeded Serb lost in the quarter-finals in Rome to the Dane Holger Rune 2: 6, 6: 4, 2: 6 and was not in top form. In the second set, Djokovic even had to take a painkiller. Carlos Alcaraz, last winner of the Masters in Madrid, was already eliminated from the competition on Monday.
Mauthausen lost
The men from Union Stein&Co Mauthausen conceded a bitter 4:5 in the 1st tennis Bundesliga in Radstadt. In the women’s category, defending champion Linz AG Team OÖ achieved an unchallenged 6:1 victory in Klosterneuburg.
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
