The tennis player from Spain, who is currently training in Manacor, will head to the French capital next week with the intention of competing.
After losing with not-so-great feelings in the second round of the Rome Masters 1000 to the Polish world number nine, Hubert Hurkacz, Rafa Nadal returned to Manacor on Sunday, engulfed in a sea of doubts.
The Balearic player will train at his Academy in the coming days and next week will head to Paris with the intention of competing in Roland Garros (May 26 to June 9), according to AS.
The positive outlook he gained during practices at the Foro Italico, against top-level players, did not match his performance in the matches, a fact that surprised both him and his team. However, the days of work in the Italian capital did not take a physical toll on the 22-time Grand Slam winner, who is nearing 38 years old (his birthday is June 3) and intended to push his body to the limit, even if it posed a high risk, given his extensive injury history.
In that regard, he is feeling well, according to his camp, as reported by AS. The emotional boost from receiving an impromptu and unprecedented tribute from thousands of fans at the Internazionali d’Italia facilities made Nadal return home less disheartened than expected.
The Last Hope
That’s why he wants to cling to the possibility of succeeding at the French Grand Slam, where he has been champion 14 times. He said this in an interview with French television channel France 2.
“I don’t know if I will be competitive at Roland Garros. I am going to enter the tournament thinking that I can give my maximum, that I can play at 100%; and if my body is not up to winning any matches, then I’ll accept it, but not step onto the court knowing that I have no chance,” Rafa clarified.
Nadal is, virtually, the 276th in the world, although at the Bois de Boulogne he will play with a protected ranking of number 34. An advantage that, however, will not exempt him from early encounters with seeded players, as has happened in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome.
The Manacor native was not accustomed to facing dangerous curves in the early stages of tournaments. That’s why he tries to prepare with the help of top players, like Stefanos Tsitsipas, with whom he trained a few days ago in Rome. This will be repeated in Paris. And if things go well, we will see the king of clay perform, at least one more time, on the Philippe Chatrier.
