The player from Balearic has completed a preparatory tour with five wins and three losses.
Rafael Nadal sees the glass half full in his decision to play at Roland Garros (May 26 to June 9). In his latest interview with France TVSports, the player from Balearic gives reasons why he wants to be in the draw for the clay-court Grand Slam next Thursday.
“I’m going to play the tournament thinking that I can be at my maximum, at 100%. And if 100% is not enough even to win a match, I’ll accept that. But I don’t want to enter the court knowing that I have no chances. If there’s a 0.01% chance, I want to explore it and I want to try. But if there’s a 0.0, no. I’d rather stay with all the happy memories,” Nadal said, according to Marca.
That’s why he comments, “I don’t want to feel in Roland Garros as I felt in Madrid or Barcelona.”
At the Italian Open, he won a match in three sets against qualifier Zizou Bergs, ranked 108 in the world, and scored four games against Hubert Hurkacz.
Nadal missed the last edition of the French Open due to an injury at the 2023 Australian Open that sidelined him for the rest of the season. His records at Roland Garros could convince anyone to try again. Of his 115 matches, he has won 112, which gives him an effectiveness rate of 97 percent.
First time not being a seeded player
This time, unlike the previous 18 since his debut in 2005, he will not be one of the 32 seeds. This means that from the first round, he could face anyone from the top 10, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, or Jannik Sinner.
The winner of 22 majors has not confirmed that he will retire this season. In fact, his latest statements suggest the opposite. In Rome, he stated he did not know if it was his last participation, in Barcelona he also did not say it was his last appearance, and on France TVSports he gives more clues.
“I thought 2024 was going to be my last year, but I didn’t say 100% it would be my last year. I don’t know what can happen,” Nadal said.
