From clay to grass and then back to clay? That makes little sense for Rafael Nadal. For one last hurrah before his planned retirement, the Spaniard wants to forego the change.
Spain’s tennis star Rafael Nadal will probably skip the grass-court classic in Wimbledon after his first-round defeat at the French Open against Alexander Zverev. He also does not want to jeopardize his probably last career goal of the Olympics in Paris, which will be held on his favorite surface, clay, at the Stade Roland Garros, revealed the 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner immediately after his three-set defeat.
At the moment, things are looking “difficult” because of the grass season, said the 37-year-old: “I don’t know if it would be so smart to switch to a completely different surface now after everything that has happened to my body and then go back to clay.” Nadal has triumphed at Wimbledon twice in his career (2008 and 2010). The third Grand Slam tournament of the season starts on July 1 this year, the Olympic tennis tournament begins on July 27.
The 14-time tournament winner was eliminated in the first round for the first time in his 19th French Open start. Since Nadal is currently planning to end his illustrious career at the end of the season, this will probably be his last appearance at his favorite tournament, which he has shaped like no other for almost two decades.
Nadal takes it sportingly
Nadal, who only made his comeback on the tour in mid-April and entered the French Open unseeded for the first time due to various injuries, took his first-round exit in good spirits. Due to the unfortunate draw, he had to play against “one of the best tennis players in the world” and he came out of it very respectably: “I wasn’t that far away, that’s my feeling and my truth.”
Zverev, meanwhile, suspects that Nadal’s retirement will be delayed a little longer. “I still believe that he will come back next year,” the Olympic champion told Eurosport. “I believe that he will start to play better and better.”
Source: Stern
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