PARIS– Let’s leave this part aside: Rafael Nadal did not announce his retirement after being eliminated from the French Open in the first round.
Nothing else, however, is completely clear about what comes next for the owner of 22 Grand Slam titles. He turns 38 in a week and has been dealing with injuries for some time.
“I don’t know,” Nadal acknowledged, “what will happen in the next few months.”
He probably won’t be back at the tournament where he won a record 14 trophies, but write that down in pencil, because he wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility in the days leading up to, or in the moments immediately following, the 6-3, 7-6 (5 ), 6-3 defeat to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros on Monday, which gave the Spaniard the first losing streak of his clay-court career.
He probably won’t get into Wimbledon because it just doesn’t seem like a good idea to switch to grass right now, although he doesn’t completely rule out that possibility either.
As for the Paris Olympics, where will the Roland Garros tennis competition be held starting in two months? He’ll probably be there, but — hey, here’s a twist — he wouldn’t completely commit to it.
So, in short, all we really know about what the future holds for Nadal is that we don’t really know anything about what the future holds for him. Which, of course, is OK, because he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
“Obviously,” Zverev noted, “there are uncertainties.”
Obviously.
“That’s why I’m not saying I’m retiring today,” said Nadal, whose 1 1/2-year-old son, Rafael Jr., sat on his mother’s lap on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday. “In terms of what motivates me… I’m a simple guy. I like what I do. I’m passionate about sport, I’m passionate about competition. I like to practice, I like to play tennis. I’m in a different moment in my personal life too, traveling with my son, wife. I’m enjoying these moments that won’t come again.”
So basically, why force yourself to stop? Why not try and see how much more your body can take?
Why not look forward to staying out there, doing what he did so well for so long, and maybe just giving yourself and your family – especially your son, still too young to remember what’s going on – some memories to remember. save a day?
“If I continue to enjoy what I do and feel competitive and healthy enough to enjoy it, I want to continue for a while,” Nadal explained. “I don’t know for how long, but I want to keep going for a while, because they’re having fun, I’m having fun and I need to see – I need to give myself a little more time… to see if my level is increasing and my body is holding on, and then we will make a decision.”
It makes perfect sense.
Especially considering what both opponents took away from this latest performance, which was hardly up to Nadal’s career standards but included occasional moments of play that could have been good enough to overcome a lesser obstacle than Zverev.
After all, the 27-year-old German is fourth in the rankings, was runner-up at the US Open four years ago and gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Furthermore, he is coming off a clay court title at the Italian Open and has been a semi-finalist at Roland Garros for the last three years.
“I mean, I wasn’t that far away,” Nadal said. “That’s my feeling.”
Zverev assessment: “If he stays healthy, he will continue to play better.”
Nadal seemed to agree with this. He also asked for some time to make up his mind.
“Give me two months until the Olympics and then we’ll see if I can keep going or I’ll say, ‘OK, guys, that’s more than enough.’ Let’s see,” Nadal said on Monday night after just his fourth defeat in 116 French Open matches. “I mean, today is not a time to analyze all that kind of stuff.”
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Howard Fendrich has been an AP tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories and write to him at hfendrich@ap.org
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