After announcing that will not compete at Wimbledon to focus on the Olympic Games, Rafael Nadal He gave an interview to ‘L’Equipe’ in which he discussed several striking topics.
On the one hand, that dream duo that he will form with Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles at the Olympics, something that makes him especially excited.
Furthermore, among other aspects, he has reviewed his brief time at Roland Garros this 2024, where he has assured that he had bad luck, mainly, for two reasons: facing Alexander Zverev in the first round and it rained on the day of their match.
“The draw was bad. I arrived with doubts because in Rome it was a disaster. I knew it was going to be different because I was much better prepared. But everything went wrong for me: the draw, the playing conditions (roof closed due to rain)…”, he explained.
“I didn’t say it after the match because I thought it wasn’t the time. Zverev is a great player, he reached the final, I would have needed a worse Zverev. And for my part I did not take advantage of the opportunities I had to change the situation,” he added.
The aborted tribute
Before the match, the director of Roland Garros stated that Rafa Nadal had asked him not to pay him any tribute in case of falling to Zverev.
Now, the Spaniard has explained why: “I preferred not to live with the idea that they had to pay me tribute, because practically It forced me not to play here anymore. and I wasn’t prepared for it at the time.”
Will he play in 2025?
Such were his feelings at Roland Garros that Nadal has left a son of hope about postponing his retirement at the end of the 2025 season.
“My feelings over the last few weeks have made me want to explore a little more, to see what can happen. I feel like I’m recovering the pleasure of playing, of having fun. I want to give myself the opportunity to see if my physique remains at this level or if this is just a passing moment and it starts to go wrong again,” he said.
“I have never made a hasty decision and this time it will not be like that either. I am giving myself time to see How am I going to feel after the Olympic Games? and then we will see what happens, what decisions I make,” he added.
“I always said I thought this would be my last year, but I can’t be sure because at the end of the day you don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he concluded.
