Record Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal seems ready and motivated for the French Open despite his recent complaints on his left foot and the early defeats in Madrid (quarter-finals) and Rome (round of 16). On Monday evening, the 35-year-old posted a photo of an ambitious training session at his academy in Mallorca.
“Today in Manacor, at the Rafa Nadal Academy… See you on Wednesday,” he announced his arrival at Roland Garros on Instagram. Nadal has suffered from Müller-Weiss syndrome – a deformation of the metatarsal bone – for almost his entire career. “I’m not injured, I live with this injury,” Nadal said after his defeat in Rome by Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
That’s why the Spaniard had to end his season last year. He then returned to the tour in January with a winning streak that had not been thought possible: two titles in Melbourne, first in a small ATP 250 tournament, then the triumph at the Grand Slam tournament and the title in Acapulco and only then in the final of Indian Wells, already hit harder again, the first defeat. He now wants to take his doctor with him to Paris.
Nadal is fighting for 22nd Grand Slam title
For Nadal, the French Open, which begins on Sunday, is about his 22nd Grand Slam title and his 14th in the French capital. He holds the record with 21 victories in total and 13 in a single Grand Slam. Last year, Nadal lost in Paris for the third time in his career, his Serbian conqueror Novak Djokovic later won the title and only failed at the Grand Slam at the US Open in September.
Nadal has this chance this year – and maybe for the last time. In an interview in Spanish, he himself questioned how long the Mallorquin, who has taken care of himself for a long time, will continue to suffer. “There will come a moment when my head will say enough is enough because the pain takes away my happiness. Not just for tennis, but for my life.”
