PARIS: Rafael Nadal will carry down the curtain on his 19-year French Open profession with the probability of including to his 14 titles vastly diminished earlier than he leaves behind a document and fame unlikely ever to be matched.
The nice Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, received his first title at Roland Garros as a teen in 2005. Per week on Monday, he’ll have fun his thirty eighth birthday.
A former world primary, who’s now at 276 on the earth, Nadal has solely performed 15 matches since January final 12 months as a hip harm after which a muscle tear have been added to a miserable litany of bodily illnesses which have pressured him to overlook 12 Grand Slam tournaments in his profession.
Unseeded this 12 months, his farewell to arms could also be temporary after he was drawn to face world quantity 4 Alexander Zverev within the first spherical with the match set for Monday.
The Spaniard skipped final 12 months’s event as a result of a hip harm that wanted surgical procedure and has mentioned he expects to retire on the finish of 2024. However he wasn’t able to repeat these phrases on Saturday.
“If I’ve to let you know it’s 100% my final Roland Garros, sorry however I cannot, as a result of I can’t predict what’s occurring. I hope you perceive,” Nadal instructed a packed press convention.
“I don’t need to shut 100% the door, as a result of it’s a quite simple factor. First, I’m having fun with enjoying tennis,” he mentioned, including that he was “kind of wholesome… and enjoying with out limitation”.
“Perhaps in a single month and a half I’ll say ‘OK, it’s sufficient, I can’t maintain going’. However at this time I can’t assure that it’s going to be the final one. This place is magical for me.”
And if 2024 seems to be Nadal’s French Open farewell? “I simply can say because of all of the love I obtained from all of the gamers, from the organisers, from the tournaments, from all of the group of tennis and sport. I really feel very proud that in all probability I go away a constructive legacy there.”
In addition to 14 titles in Paris, Nadal can boast a document of 112 wins and simply three losses, two of which got here towards career-long rival Novak Djokovic.
Zverev, who arrives in Paris having received the celebrated Rome Open title, has solely overwhelmed Nadal as soon as in six clay-court conferences. After they met in Paris in 2022, the German was pressured to retire from their semi-final after sustaining a severe ankle harm.
Nadal isn’t the one A-list expertise below a Paris cloud forward of the event begin on Sunday.
Defending champion and document 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic, whose three titles in Paris put him alongside Gustavo Kuerten, Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl, is enduring a title dry spell unseen since 2018.
Again then, he additionally reached Might and not using a trophy earlier than crashing to a shock quarter-final defeat on the French Open to unheralded Marco Cecchinato of Italy.
This season, Djokovic has misplaced his Australian Open title and has but to make a last.
In an try to assemble a level of clay-court confidence, Djokovic, who turned 37 on Wednesday, grabbed a late wild card within the ongoing Geneva event. That resulted in a shock semi-final loss to Forty fourth-ranked Czech Tomas Machac on Friday.
“After all I’m frightened… I haven’t been enjoying good in any respect this 12 months,” Djokovic, who begins his marketing campaign on Tuesday towards residence wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert, instructed reporters on Friday.
Requested about his title defence at Roland Garros, Djokovic mentioned: “[I’ve had] some [good] matches right here and there however it’s what it’s. You need to settle for it. I don’t take into account myself a favorite there. I’ve loads to work on. Im going to take it match by match and see how far I can go.”
World quantity two Jannik Sinner, the person who succeeded Djokovic as Australian Open champion, has been laid low by a hip harm which precipitated him to skip the Rome Open. Sinner has an additional incentive to progress deep in Paris as he may depose Djokovic as world primary.
Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, additionally skipped Rome to nurse an arm harm. The world quantity three meets American fortunate loser J.J. Wolf in his first spherical.
SWIATEK EYES PLACE AMONG GREATS
On the ladies’s facet, world primary Iga Swiatek may turn into the primary participant to raise three successive titles in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007.
Swiatek also can turn into solely the fourth girl to win 4 Roland Garros singles titles within the Open period and is a powerful favorite after dominating on clay once more this season, arriving in Paris off the again of WTA 1000 victories in Madrid and Rome.
The one feminine participant in historical past to finish a Madrid-Rome-Roland Garros treble in the identical season is Serena Williams.
However the 22-year-old Pole, who faces French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean within the first spherical, isn’t daunted by what she may obtain.
“I might lie if I might say I’m not nervous, as a result of all people is, I believe,” Swiatek instructed reporters on Friday. “There’s numerous stress, particularly while you play properly and also you already know that you could obtain this step, individuals are anticipating it to occur many times and once more.
“So there’s stress, however I wouldn’t say I’m extra nervous than standard… I’m additionally fairly assured with how I’m enjoying proper now and with the work we have now been doing.”
The largest impediment standing in her manner is Aryna Sabalenka.
The Belarusian missed three match factors earlier than dropping to Swiatek in an exciting Madrid last and can be hoping to get one other crack at her rival after a one-sided loss in Rome.
Sabalenka, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion, has reached at the least the semi-finals in every of the previous six Grand Slam occasions.
Elena Rybakina, the one participant to defeat Swiatek on clay this 12 months, was being touted as a part of a brand new ‘massive three’ 12 months in the past.
However the Kazakh has did not make the final 4 at a Slam since dropping the 2023 Australian Open last to Sabalenka and has been handed within the rankings by US Open champion Coco Gauff.
American Gauff, enjoying in a serious for the primary time since turning 20, can be hoping to go one higher than when she misplaced the 2022 French Open showpiece to Swiatek.
Printed in Daybreak, Might twenty sixth, 2024